Oklahoma Democrats square their shoulders at Tulsa convention

More purposeful than giddily optimistic, delegates re-elected Tulsan Alicia Andrews as chairwoman by a large margin and approved an “Oklahoma-specific addendum” to the national party platform that includes open, ranked-choice primaries, sales tax relief, diversification of the state’s economy and “collaboration regardless of party” but without compromise on diversity.

“Oklahoma Democrats are in a superminority on the statewide level,” Andrews said in addressing some of the Democrats struggles. “Democratic Party registration is not what we want it to be. Those are facts.

“The numbers are true and they don’t feel good,” Andrews said, “but the reality is that despite these numbers, and because of these numbers, we’ve tried to be intentional about our efforts.”

The good news, Andrews said, is that the party has held steady in recent elections and is finally in an organizational and financial situation to perhaps make some headway.

In perhaps the most surprising development, given the state of many state parties, Treasurer Rachael Hunsucker reported the party is debt-free and current.

“With focus and intentionality, we have proven we can do more with less,” Andrews said.

Former Gov. David Walters, the state’s national committeeman, said the “performative politics” of Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt can be “disheartening.”

He also mentioned hyperbolic state Superintendent Ryan Walters, and hastened to add they are not related.

Former state Rep. Eric Proctor, whose term as state vice president ended Sunday, said the state party is trying to convince the national part that the 5th Congressional District, which Democrat Kendra Horn held for one term and has since been drastically redrawn, is still winnable.

The same is true of CD 1, Proctor said, after 70,000 people were shifted into CD 2 by redistricting.

About 450 people attended the Saturday night Carl Albert Dinner with Beto O’Rourke. Speakers at various events Friday evening and Saturday included former state party officials from Nebraska, Kentucky and Ohio.

DNC Vice Chairman Ken Martin, who Walters called the most powerful person in the national committee because of his leadership of the Association of State Democratic Committees, was Sunday’s keynote speaker.

Martin said even though Democrats didn’t make much headway in terms of winning elections, they did cause Republicans to spend some money in the state, which helped the caused nationally.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” he said. “It takes time to move a state from red to purple to blue.

“It starts at home,” he said. “It starts with our families. It starts with our loved ones. With the people we know. We need to listen to folks who feel forgotten, like my father-in-law and my brother-in-law, a union carpenter, who don’t believe the Democratic Party will stand up for them anymore.”

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