Oklahoma Senate's GOP caucus chooses Lonnie Paxton, of Tuttle, to be its new leader

Republicans in the Oklahoma Senate picked another new leader, Monday, the second one in five months. State Sen. Lonnie Paxton, of Tuttle, was chosen as the caucus' pro tempore-designee for the 2025 legislative session.

Paxton's selection, during a brief caucus meeting at the Capitol, came just five months after the GOP caucus named Ada Republican Greg McCortney as its next leader. McCortney, who had served in the Senate since 2016, was defeated in his bid for reelection.

Monday, the Senate's current pro tempore, Greg Treat, acknowledged his caucus hadn't expected McCortney's defeat in the primary election. "So it's kind of a weird feeling to come and do a pro tempore designee election a second time."

Though a majority of the Senate's Republican members attended Monday's meeting, a least two members of the GOP caucus were critical of the election and issued media statements criticizing the timing of the meeting and claiming the meeting was held to prevent some senators from voting.

Two senators opposed Monday's caucus vote

“In an attempt to maintain their power, an unnecessary election for the Senate Pro Tempore designee has been scheduled to occur at our state Capitol during the Republican National Convention," Sen. David Bullard said in a media statement. "Even now, after an assassination attempt on President Trump, they are still hell-bent on fixing their election. Make no mistake, this is not a simple oversight, this date was chosen specifically to ensure not all state senators would be able to vote due to their attendance at the national convention."

Bullard ran against Paxton for the post. He said Monday's vote was unnecessary and showed "a strong lack of respect for their fellow senators and most importantly, the people of Oklahoma for whom we all serve."

"Change is coming," Bullard said.

Bullard's complaints were echoed by Sen. George Burns, of Pollard. Burns said he was tired of people trying to rig elections in this country, adding that the vote to corner the Senate's pro tempore seat was "no different than past attempts to grab power."

"While I and several others are here supporting the nomination of former President Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for President, back home fast moves are being made to secure power within our own leadership," Burns said in a media statement Monday afternoon.

"Now is not the time for petty power grabs, especially after the assassination attempt on Saturday, our focus needs to be on getting former President Trump elected," Burns said.

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"Instead, leadership is calling for an unnecessary election on the home front, and to top it off is trying to change the rules in a desperate attempt to have this rigged election at any cost. There are reasons these rules exist and they should be followed, not side-stepped to appease desperation. I am opposed to this election and look forward to a strong change in November.”

Treat pushed back against both claims.

"It's baloney," he said. "When people think they are going to be on the short end of a vote, they are going to say, 'it's unfair' so they can run again in November at the caucus election."

Treat said it was unfortunate that Bullard and Burns used the rhetoric they did and tried to tie it into the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

"If it wasn't so egregious, it would be laughable," he said. "We let the vote go the way it goes."

Following the caucus vote, Paxton said both Burns and Bullard were allowed to vote in the pro tempore election via proxy.

"Everyone got the opportunity to vote," he said.

Paxton: Honored to be chosen as president pro tempore

After Monday's caucus meeting Paxton said he was honored by the faith his Senate colleagues had in him. He said he was successful because of the relationships he'd built. "It's eight years of knowing me," he said. "Everyone in there has had the chance to know who I am. They say I treat them fairly and try to let them informed on what's going on."

Paxton said the job of senator can be stressful, and often other senators just need someone to talk with. "I try to be the person that will visit."

He said his role from now until November was to learn the job of pro tempore and what it's about. "There's also several new senators coming on that I need to get to know," he said.

Paxton represents the 23rd Senate District and currently is the chairman of the Public Safety Committee and the Redistricting Committee. Born in Chickasha and raised on his family’s farm in Tuttle, Paxton said his roots in his district run deep.

More: State leaders call for end to political violence, unity after Trump assassination attempt

Paxton has operated an insurance agency in downtown Tuttle for the last 24 years and owns and operates a property company. He also farms and raises cattle and has served the community as a volunteer firefighter, mayor and city councilman. Paxton served on the Grady County Memorial Hospital board of directors, and is a former president of the Tuttle Chamber of Commerce.

In a media statement announcing his election, Paxton praised his fellow senators and said he hoped to unify the caucus.

"First and foremost, I appreciate my Senate Republican colleagues for their confidence in me to assume this role,” Paxton said. “I also thank current Pro Tem Treat for his willingness to guide me and show me how to be effective in this role as he has been. Pro Tem Treat has served Oklahoma nobly as a Senator and as the leader of the Senate. I applaud his service and wish him well after he terms out of office in November."

Paxton said he planned to "lead from the front" and said the Republican caucus would be "reaching across the aisle, across the rotunda and to the executive branch to enhance our state."

"I truly believe Oklahoma’s best days are in front of us, and we can only reach our full potential by working together," he said.

McCortney: Leaving the Senate knowing we did good things

Though Monday's special session and the caucus meeting that followed later were largely upbeat, it was bittersweet for outgoing Sen. McCortney — probably the last time he would stand on the floor of the Senate as majority leader.

"It's been a strange day," he said.

Up until the June primary election, McCortney was making plans for his final four years in office, as the Senate's pro tempore. His defeat in June, he said, ended all that. Returning to the Capitol to choose another pro tempore wasn't on his to-do list.

"It's taken me a while to process everything," he said. "After everything that happened. I was just, well, I was surprised."

Still, even though he won't be spending the next four years as the Senate's leader, McCortney said he was proud of what the Senate accomplished.

"I think we've done a lot of good things," he said. "And I am happy to help our new senator in any way I can. We need him to be a success."

Republican members of the Oklahoma Senate will meet again after the November general election. A formal vote for pro tempore — this one by the full Senate — will take place in January 2025.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Sen. Lonnie Paxton named pro tempore-designee for 2025