In winning a record 6th term to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission on Tuesday, Bob Anthony carried all 77 counties in the state.
He ended up with 60% support after facing challenges from Democrat Ashley Nicole McCray, the Indian and environmental activist who received 34% and from Independent Jackie Short who ended up with about 6% support.
Of the 1,167,032 votes cast in the election, Anthony received 700,643.
“I have always considered public service to be a sacred trust, and my record shows I take my constitutional duties seriously,” Anthony said. “I am proud and honored to have the trust of the citizens of this state, and look forward to serving Oklahoma with fairness, honesty and integrity for one more term.”
When Anthony was first elected in the 1988 elections, he became the first Republican elected to the commission in 60 years and only the second to serve on the commission since statehood. In 1994, he was reelected and became the first Republican incumbent in state history to win reelection to a statewide office.
In the 2000 election, Commissioner Anthony received more votes than any candidate in state history. With this week’s victory, he has extended his reign as the longest-serving Corporation Commissioner in Oklahoma history.
Anthony might be best known for his undercover work with the FBI targeting corruption on the Commission in the early 1990s. The probe eventually led to the conviction of one commissioner and a utility attorney.
Beyond the OCC, Anthony has also represented Oklahoma nationally and internationally though leadership roles in such regulatory advisory bodies as the National Petroleum Council, on which he is one of only five state regulators, and the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners to which he was recently reappointed.
