Incumbent Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) easily avoided a runoff in Oklahoma after defeating a crowded field of GOP candidates, including a wealthy self-funder vying for his House seat.
Cole, who chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee in the House, received 67% of the vote with 25% of ballots counted when the primary was called. Meanwhile, insurance broker Paul Bondar received 23% of the vote.
Had Cole failed to pull in 50%, he would have been forced to compete in a primary runoff on Aug. 27. Three other GOP candidates were also on the ballot, but the two top vote-getters advance to the next stage of the election.
Cole, who has held his seat since the 2002 election, had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, but he is also an old-school Republican who has attracted criticism for his relationships with Democrats. He took on his role as Appropriations Committee chairman after Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) stepped down from the position in April.
Bondar, a political newcomer who loaned more than $5 million of his own money to his campaign in Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional District, had attacked Cole as a Washington insider willing to vote with Democrats on spending bills, including billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, but the message did not resonate with enough voters on election night.
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The race became one of the most expensive congressional races in Oklahoma’s history. In addition to Bondar’s personal fundraising, Americans 4 Security PAC, an outside group supporting Cole, planned to spend nearly $4 million on the race, per Roll Call. Cole’s campaign spent over $3 million, and both the American Action Network and Defending Main Street Super PAC funneled money into the contest as well.
Oklahoma is one of several Republican strongholds as Democrats look elsewhere to flip the lower chamber back to their control.
