George Burns is an American politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves in the Oklahoma Senate as the elected member from the 5th District which encompasses parts of Atoka, Choctaw, LeFlore, McCurtain, and Pushmataha Counties.[1] He was first elected in the 2020 Oklahoma Senate election after winning the Republican primary on June 30, 2020, and going on to win the general election on November 3, 2020. His current term expires in 2028.
George Burns | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Oklahoma Senate from the 5th district | |
| Assumed office January 11, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Silk |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Patty Burns |
| Residence | Pollard, Oklahoma |
| Alma mater | Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology |
| Profession |
|
Early life and career
editBurns grew up in the Pollard community near Haworth, Oklahoma.[1] He graduated from Haworth High School and Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.[1] He worked as an electrician and eventually as a manager for large scale mechanical construction projects.[1] He later served on the board of directors for both the Choctaw Electric Cooperative and the Western Farmers Electric Cooperate until his election to the Oklahoma Senate.[1]
Burns currently is a council member for Idabel Kiamichi Technology Center.[1] He has four children and eight grandchildren.[1]
Oklahoma Senate (since 2021)
editBurns has served in the 58th Oklahoma Legislature.
2020 Campaign
editOklahoma's 5th Senate District was open in the 2020 Oklahoma Senate election because incumbent Joseph Silk had stepped down to challenge Markwayne Mullin in the Republican primary for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district.[2] Burns ran as a Pro-Trump Republican.[2] Burns advanced to a runoff election against fellow Pro-Trump Republican Justin Jackson.[3] He won the runoff election by just 22 votes.[4] He went on to win the general election by over three-fourths of the vote.[5]
58th Legislature
editBurns authored SB 216 which aims to prevent any local or state government in Oklahoma from closing churches and other religious institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7]
Electoral history
edit2020
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Burns | 2,345 | 38.3% | |
| Republican | Justin Jackson | 2,072 | 33.84% | |
| Republican | Jimmy Westbrook | 1,706 | 27.86% | |
| Total votes | 6,123 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Burns | 2,103 | 50.26% | |
| Republican | Justin Jackson | 2,081 | 49.74% | |
| Total votes | 4,184 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Burns | 21,746 | 78.79% | ||
| Democratic | Randy Coleman | 5,855 | 21.21% | ||
| Total votes | 27,601 | 100.0% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
In 2024, Burns was reelected without opposition.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Senator George Burns". oksenate.gov. Oklahoma Senate. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ a b Cuccia, Annemaria (26 May 2020). "Five candidates running in SEOK's open Senate District 5". NonDoc. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Cuccia, Annemaria (29 July 2020). "'Trump Train' Republicans enter Senate District 5 runoff". NonDoc. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Cuccia, Annemaria (26 August 2020). "Three more Senate Republican incumbents lose". NonDoc. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Dunn, Kayla (4 November 2020). "Oklahoma Senate elections: Dems gain one, lose one". NonDoc. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Washington, Destiny (7 January 2021). "Sen. Burns introduces legislation modifying the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act". okcfox.com. Fox25. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Oklahoma senator introduces Religious Freedom Act". The Lawton Constitution. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "OK Election Results June 30 2020". results.okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ "OK Election Results August 25 2020". results.okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "OK Election Results November 03 2020". results.okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ Savage, Tres (5 April 2024). "Oklahoma State Senate races outlined as filing ends". NonDoc. Retrieved 6 April 2024.