Despite the efforts of Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce President Chad Warmington to convince the national chamber to do otherwise, the U.S. Chamber came out this week with an endorsement of Oklahoma Democrat congresswoman Kendra Horn.
Warmington tried to tell the national group that she was not supportive of Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry nor a reliable vote for the industry.
“Congresswoman Horn voted four times to limit energy exploration,” he wrote in a letter to the U.S. Chamber.
“I question how the U.S. Chamber could endorse a candidate who consistently voted against the largest industry in Oklahoma employing over 90,000 workers throughout the state. That is hardly a pro-business record.”
But this week, the U.S. Chamber sided with Rep. Horn who responded by stating it means, “I’ve delivered on my promise to bring both parties together in support of Oklahoma’s businesses and economic opportunity in our state.”
The U.S. Chamber gave Horn an overall score of 87% for her votes, leadership and bipartisanship. Of 18 votes scored by the business group in the past year, she sided with the Chamber on 13 of them including the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.
The Chamber’s endorsement of Rep. Horn isn’t the only one raising eyebrows as the group also came out this week in support of Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids, a politician it opposed with $200,000 in campaign ads two years ago.
In a letter Tuesday afternoon informing her of the endorsement, the chamber cited her support for the USMCA trade agreement with Canada and Mexico as among the reasons for the endorsement.
