2025 Oklahoma House of Representatives District 97 special election
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Oklahoma House of Representatives District 97 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 14.70% (unofficial) | |||||||||||||||
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 Precinct results Timmons: 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% Harrison: 50–60% 60–70% 90–100% Tie: 50% | ||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Oklahoma |
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 Government |
A special election in the U.S. state of Oklahoma was held on June 10, 2025, to elect a new member for the 97th district in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing a portion of Oklahoma County, the state's largest county by population. Oklahoma County contains Oklahoma City, the state's capital and largest city. Under Oklahoma law, unopposed races are not placed on the ballot. As only two Democrats ran for the seat, and no Republicans or independents filed, the Democratic primary election, held on June 10, 2025, decided who would win the seat. Aletia Timmons won the Democratic primary with 59.07% of the vote.
Background and procedure
- Libertarian (0.72%)
- Republican (23.2%)
- Democratic (55.1%)
- Independent (21.1%)
Two-round special primary elections are held before the general election. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round of a primary, they automatically win the nomination and precede to the general election. However, if no candidate receives 50%, a second round is held between the top two candidates. As there are only two candidates in the race and voters do not have the option to write-in candidates, a runoff will not be necessary. Political parties may choose whether to have open primaries or closed primaries. The Oklahoma Democratic Party, the only party which had candidates file, has open primaries and allows independents to vote in their primaries, while the Oklahoma Republican Party and the Oklahoma Libertarian Party have closed primaries, where only party members can vote. If only one candidate files for the primary, no primary election is held and they automatically win the nomination, and if they have no opponents in the general election, no general election is held.[1]
The special election was made necessary by the resignation of incumbent Democratic representative Jason Lowe effective April 7, 2025, a week after winning a special election to become a county commissioner for Oklahoma County.[2] He had served in the state house since November 2016.
The Democratic primary was held on June 10, 2025. If they had been necessary, a primary runoff election was scheduled for August 12, 2025, and the general election would have been held on September 9, 2025. Candidates had until April 23, 2025 to file to run.[3]
As of January 15, 2025, there were 25,600 registered voters in HD 97, with 14,096 Democrats (55%), 5,930 Republicans (23%), 185 Libertarians (1%), and 5,389 independents (21%).[4] Under state Democratic primary rules, about 76% of the district's registered voters are eligible to vote in the primary.
Previous results
This table shows every election in HD 97 won by the previous incumbent, Democrat Jason Lowe, and the election immediately preceding.
| Year | Democrats | Opponents | Mgn. | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jason Lowe (i) | Unopp. | D+100 | [5] | ||||
| 2022 | Jason Lowe (i) | 8,367 | 72.42% | Lisa Janloo | 3,186 | 27.58% | D+44.84 | [6] |
| 2020 | Jason Lowe (i) | 11,462 | 71.33% | Ben M. Janloo | 4,607 | 28.67% | D+42.66 | [7] |
| 2018 | Jason Lowe (i) | Unopp. | D+100 | [8] | ||||
| 2016 | Jason Lowe | 11,420 | 73.49% | Tonni Canaday | 4,119 | 26.51% | D+46.98 | [9] |
| 2014 | Mike Shelton (i) | 7,888 | 78.38% | Tonni Canaday | 2,176 | 21.62% | D+56.76 | [10] |
Democratic primary
Candidates
The following candidates filed to run before the deadline:[11]
- JeKia Harrison, legislative assistant and activist
- Aletia Timmons, district judge for Oklahoma's seventh judicial district (2014–2025)
Endorsements
Organizations
Organizations
- Elect Black Women PAC[13]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Aletia Timmons | 1,224 | 59.07% | |
| Democratic | JeKia Harrison | 848 | 40.93% | |
| Total votes | 2,072 | 100.00% | ||
| Turnout | 2,072 | 14.70% | ||
| Registered electors | 14,096 | |||
See also
- 2025 Oklahoma elections
- 2025 Oklahoma House of Representatives District 71 special election
- 2025 Oklahoma House of Representatives District 74 special election
- 2025 Oklahoma Senate District 8 special election
- 2025 United States state legislative special elections
External links
Official campaign Web sites
References
- ^ "Primary and Runoff Primary Elections". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Sharfman, Alexandra (7 April 2025). "Rep. Jason Lowe resigns from Oklahoma Legislature after winning County Commissioner race". KOKH. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ "Oklahoma state legislative special elections, 2025". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ "Current Registration Statistics by District" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "NOVEMBER 05 2024 Official Results". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "NOVEMBER 08 2022 Official Results". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "NOVEMBER 03 2020 Official Results". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "NOVEMBER 06 2018 Official Results". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "NOVEMBER 08 2016 Official Results". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "NOVEMBER 04 2014 Official Results". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Murphy, Emma (25 April 2025). "Who has filed to fill Oklahoma House seat vacated by Jason Lowe?". The Oklahoman. Oklahoma Voice. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ "Run for Something Announces 51 New Endorsements for State and Local Offices". Run for Something. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ "Endorsed Candidates". Elect Black Women. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ "Unofficial Results". OKLAHOMA STATE ELECTION BOARD. Retrieved 11 June 2025.