Two years after Democrat Kendra Horn upset Republican Congressman Steve Russell, she was upset by Republican challenger and state Rep. Stephanie Bice.
It was a short term in Congress for Horn who was the only Democrat in Oklahoma’s U.S. House delegation. She had energy-associated assignments on House committees. Horn was a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and served on its Space and Aeronautics subcommittee. She also was a member of the House Armed Services Committee as well as its Strategic Forces subcommittee.
Of the 303,585 votes cast in the congressional district, Bice received 158,044 votes or 52.06% while Horn received 145,541 votes or 47.94%.
It was election-day voting that secured the win for the 46-year old Bice. Horn won the absentee voting 55,322 to 30,874 as well as the early voting, 10,764 to 9,174. However, Bice outscored Horn on Tuesday’s in-person voting, receiving 117,996 votes while Horn mustered 79,455.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be standing before you as the next congresswoman from the 5th District,” Bice told a GOP watch party, prompting a roar from the crowd reported the Associated Press. “I am thrilled that once again Oklahoma, on the federal level, is 100% red.”
U.S. House candidate Kendra Horn hugs her campaign team member, Kandace Howell, after a loss to Stephanie Bice at the Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City, Okla., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Garett Fisbeck)
Congresswoman Horn went before her supporters Tuesday night to concede the loss.
“While tonight’s results aren’t what we want them to be, we have to remember that the fight is not over. This seat does not belong to a party. It belongs to the people of Oklahoma. And the only way we change things is to keep going.”
Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district and some Republicans pointed to Horn’s vote to impeach President Trump as a reason they supported Bice. But during the campaign, Bice and her supporters hammered Congresswoman Horn on her association with Joe Biden and his comments about eliminating the oil and gas industry.
It’s not clear yet what kind of House committee assignments that Bice might seek, nor whether she will ask to be seated on energy-related committees.