Oklahoma Corporation Commission election, 2016

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Oklahoma Corporation Commission Election

Primary Date: June 28, 2016

General Election Date: November 8, 2016

November Election Winner: Dana Murphy (R)

Incumbent Prior to Election: Dana Murphy (R)

State Executive Elections Top Ballot None Down Ballot Corporation Commission

Key election dates

Filing deadline (all candidates): April 15, 2016

Primary date: June 28, 2016

Primary runoff election: August 23, 2016

General election date: November 8, 2016

Recount request deadline: TBD

Inauguration: TBD

Oklahoma held an election for Corporation Commission on November 8, 2016, with a primary on June 28. Incumbent Commissioner Dana Murphy (R) was re-elected after running unopposed in the Republican primary and general elections.

HIGHLIGHTS

Incumbent Dana Murphy (R) ran for re-election to a second full term and was unopposed in both the Republican primary election and the November 8, 2016, general election.

State Rep. Richard Morrissette (D) withdrew from the race on June 22, 2016, leaving Murphy unopposed in the November general election.

Overview

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is the state's regulatory agency for public utilities, fuel, oil and gas, and the transportation industry. All three seats on the commission are occupied by Republicans, though a Democrat sat on the commission as recently as 2007.

State Rep. Richard Morrissette (D) declared his candidacy for Murphy's seat in February 2016 after his vocal criticism of the commission's response to the recent rise in human-induced earthquakes caused by the oil and gas industry in the state. A popular lawmaker who ran unopposed in the last four elections, Morrissette raised a significant amount of funds in the first months of his campaign, but ultimately withdrew from the race in June 2016 following the death of his father. He was prevented from running for re-election to the House by term limits.

Murphy ran unopposed in the November 8, 2016, general election.

Candidates

Dana Murphy (R)
Incumbent corporation commissioner since 2008

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Click [show] to view candidates who withdrew from this race.
Richard Morrissette (D) State Rep. since 2004, attorney

Results

General election

Incumbent Dana Murphy ran unopposed in the Oklahoma corporation commission election.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Dana Murphy Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: The New York Times

Primary results

Oklahoma Republican primary for corporation commissioner, 2016
Candidate
Dana Murphy Incumbent

Context of the 2016 election

Primary elections

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. In Oklahoma, the Republican Party conducts a closed primary, in which only registered party members may participate. The Democratic Party holds a hybrid primary, in which unaffiliated voters may participate.

Oklahoma's primary elections took place on June 28, 2016.

Incumbent Dana Murphy (R)

Dana Murphy (R) was first elected to a partial, two-year term on the commission in 2008 by a margin of four percent. In 2010, she was re-elected to a full six-year term by a margin of 40 percent. Prior to her tenure on the commission, Murphy owned and operated an oil and gas law firm. She also previously worked for six years as an administrative law judge at the Corporation Commission and for ten years as a geologist. Murphy serves as vice chair of the commission.

Party control in Oklahoma

Oklahoma state government has been under Republican trifecta control since 2011; the party holds large majorities in the state House and Senate. Republicans also dominate the state's top executive offices: all partisan executive positions are held by Republicans. Democrats have not enjoyed a great deal of success in statewide elections in several decades. U.S. Senator David L. Boren (D), who left office in 1994, was the last Democrat to represent Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate. The state's electoral college votes have not gone to a Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson (D) in 1964.

All three seats on the commission are held by Republicans. The seat up for election was held by a Democrat as recently as 2007, and has been occupied by a Democrat for much of the commission's history. The other two seats have been controlled by Republicans since 1988 and 1990 respectively.

Race background

State Rep. Richard Morrissette (D) declared his candidacy for corporation commissioner following his outspoken criticism of the commission's handling of two large earthquakes in Edmond, Oklahoma, at the end of December 2015. The earthquakes were two of 907 that Oklahoma suffered that year. Prior to 2009, Oklahoma experienced an average of two earthquakes per year. The rise in frequency has been attributed to the injection of wastewater from oil and gas production into disposal wells deep in the ground. In January 2016, the Corporation Commission asked five wells within a 3.5 mile radius of the epicenter to reduce production by 50 percent; wells within 10 miles were asked to reduce production by 25 percent. The commission took similar action toward individual wells over the prior few years, but this marked the first widespread request.

Morissette, a popular state representative who ran unopposed in every general election since 2008, said that the commission's actions were insufficient and hosted a public forum at the capitol and in Edmond in January 2016 for citizens to speak their concerns. The lawmaker criticized the commission and the governor for taking half-measures so as not to upset the state's oil and gas industry. He announced his candidacy for the seat on the commission occupied by vice chair Dana Murphy (R) the following month.

In response to criticism over the commission's actions, incumbent Dana Murphy replied: "There are others who believe I’ve been too hard on the oil and gas industry. Personally, we could have moved a little faster, but given the data and lack of resources we were unable to do that.” She further stated that the commission had been advised by seismologists that abruptly shutting down wells might induce more instability in the faults.

Morrissette ultimately withdrew from the race in June 2016 after the death of his father, leaving Murphy unopposed in the general election. In a statement expressing sympathy for Morrissette, Murphy said: “I struggled with the decision to run for re-election after the death of my brother earlier this year. Those who have experienced such a loss can understand the impact it has on your daily life."

Campaigns

Campaign finance

Dana Murphy Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
1st quarter report	April 30, 2016	$362,347.82	$125,800	$(5,846.84)	$482,300.98
Pre-primary report	June 20, 2016	$482,300.98	$160,841.73	$(9,800.09)	$629,565.89
			Running totals
			$286,641.73	$(15,646.93)

Richard Morrissette Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Pre-primary report	June 20, 2016	$77,724.00	$112,230.75	$(33,261.18)	$76,898.57
			Running totals
			$112,230.75	$(33,261.18)

Campaign media

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Democrats

Richard Morrissette (D)

Republicans

Dana Murphy (R)

About the office

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is a three person elected executive board in the Oklahoma state government. The commission is a regulatory agency, with an emphasis on the fuel, oil and gas, public utilities and transportation industries.

Incumbents

At the time of the election, the commissioners were chair Bob Anthony (R), Todd Hiett (R), and Dana Murphy (R). Hiett was first elected to the office in 2014, replacing Patrice Douglas (R).

Qualifications

The qualifications of commissioners is established in Article 9, Section 16 of the state constitution.

Article 9, Section 16:

The qualifications of such commissioners shall be as follows: To be resident citizens of this State for over two years next preceding the election, and qualified voters under the Constitution and laws, and not less than thirty years of age; nor shall such commissioners, or either of them, be, directly or indirectly, interested in any railroad, street railway, traction line, canal, steam boat, pipe line, car line, sleeping car line, car association, express line, telephone or telegraph line, operated for hire, in this State, or out of it, or any stock, bond, mortgage, security, or earnings of any such railroad, street railway, traction line, canal, steam boat, pipe line, car line, sleeping car line, car association, express line, telephone or telegraph line, compress or elevator companies; and if such Commissioner shall voluntarily become so interested, his office shall become vacant; and if any Corporation Commissioner shall become so interested otherwise than voluntarily, he shall, within a reasonable time, divest himself of such interest; and failing to do this, his office shall become vacant. Nor shall any such commissioner hold any other office under the government of the United States, or of this State, or any other state government, and shall not, while such Commissioner, engage in any occupation or business inconsistent with his duties as such commissioner.

• a citizen of the state for more than 2 years immediately before the election
• a qualified Oklahoma voter
• at least 30 years old
• not holding any other office in any government
• not interested, either directly or indirectly, in any railroad, street railway, traction line, canal, steam boat, pipe line, car line, sleeping car line, car association, express line, telephone or telegraph line, operated for hire, in this State, or out of it, or any stock, bond, mortgage, security, or earnings of any such railroad, street railway, traction line, canal, steam boat, pipe line, car line, sleeping car line, car association, express line, telephone or telegraph line, compress or elevator companies

Authority

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission was established in Article 9, Section 15 of the state constitution.

Article 9, Section 15:

A Corporation Commission is hereby created, to be composed of three persons, who shall be elected by the people at a general election for State officers, and their terms of office shall be six years...

Past elections

The commissioners are elected to staggered six-year terms, with one commissioner elected every two years.

On March 14, 2011, the Oklahoma State Senate approved a bill that would have given the governor the power to appoint seven of the 11 statewide elected officials, including all three corporation commissioners. The Senate would then have to confirm all appointments. The amendment, known as the Oklahoma State Office Appointment Amendment did not make the 2012 ballot.

2014

See also: Oklahoma down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Republican Todd Hiett won election without opposition on November 4, 2014.

2012

See also: Oklahoma state executive official elections, 2012

Two positions were up on the Corporation Commission in 2012. Patrice Douglas (R) and Bob Anthony (R) both won re-election. They were unopposed in the primary and in the November 6, 2012 general election.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission Short-term seat General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Patrice Douglas Incumbent	100%%	0
Total Votes				0
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections

Oklahoma Corporation Commission Full-term seat General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Anthony Incumbent	100%%	0
Total Votes				0
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections

2008

On November 4, 2008, Jeff Cloud won re-election to the office of Oklahoma Corporation Commission (Full term). He defeated Charles Gray (D) in the general election.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission (Full term), 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Cloud Incumbent	61%	856,879
	Democratic	Charles Gray	39%	548,190
Total Votes				1,405,069
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections.

On November 4, 2008, Dana Murphy won election to the office of Oklahoma Corporation Commission (Short term). She defeated Jim Roth in the general election.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission (Short term), 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dana Murphy	52.3%	738,671
	Democratic	Jim Roth	47.7%	674,905
Total Votes				1,413,576
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Bob Anthony won re-election to the office of Oklahoma Corporation Commission. He defeated Cody Graves (D) in the general election.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Anthony Incumbent	58.7%	536,341
	Democratic	Cody Graves	41.3%	378,030
Total Votes				914,371
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections.

2004

On November 2, 2004, Denise Bode won to the office of Oklahoma Corporation Commission. She defeated John Wylie in the general election.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Denise Bode	63.6%	857,387
	Democratic	John Wylie	36.4%	489,759
Total Votes				1,347,146
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections.

2002

On November 5, 2002, Jeff Cloud won election to the office of Oklahoma Corporation Commission. He defeated Keith Butler (D) and Roger Bloxham (I) in the general election.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Cloud	53.7%	540,751
	Democratic	Keith Butler	41.2%	415,355
	Independent	Roger Bloxham	5.1%	51,155
Total Votes				1,007,261
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Oklahoma Corporation Commission election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission election, 2016 - Google News

State profile

Demographic data for Oklahoma
	Oklahoma	U.S.
Total population:	3,907,414	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	68,595	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	73.1%	73.6%
Black/African American:	7.2%	12.6%
Asian:	1.9%	5.1%
Native American:	7.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	7.8%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	9.6%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	86.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	24.1%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$46,879	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.7%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Oklahoma. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Oklahoma

Oklahoma voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

More Oklahoma coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Oklahoma
• United States congressional delegations from Oklahoma
• Public policy in Oklahoma
• Endorsers in Oklahoma
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• More...

See also

Oklahoma government:

• Oklahoma state executive offices
• Oklahoma State Legislature
• Oklahoma courts

Previous elections:

• State executive official elections, 2015
• State executive official elections, 2014

Ballotpedia exclusives:

• State executives compensation
• State of the state addresses
• Who runs the states?

External links

Suggest a link

• Oklahoma Corporation Commission