Gillespie emerges victorious in state Senate runoff, Davis toppled

By John Dobberstein, Editor

In an election that will be crucial to the future of Broken Arrow, Christi Gillespie won the Republican runoff election Tuesday for the District 33 state Senate seat.

Gillespie, who is Broken Arrow’s vice mayor, defeated opponent Shelley Gwartney with 55% of the vote compared to Gwartney’s 45%, after the two emerged from a four-way primary election in June.

As expected, Gwartney served as a tough opponent, as she won eight precincts Tuesday, according to unofficial results. Gillespie garnered recent key endorsements from Gov. Kevin Stitt and former Gov. Frank Keating, along with numerous current state lawmakers.

Gillespie moves on to the November general election, where she will face Democrat Bob Willis. Gillespie figures to be heavily favored in the matchup. District 33 covers much of Broken Arrow and parts of Tulsa.

Gillespie told supporters, “This was never about who I was running against. This is about who I was running for. I will represent you as the constitutional conservative that you elected.

“We put it all out there to the point of exhaustion. And I am honored by that. We kind of had to do this because my opponent will say that dark money is the reason that I won this election. And I’m here to tell you that those things actually worked against me because people were sick of seeing my face in their mailbox. And I actually was sick of seeing my face in my mailbox. It got a little bit ridiculous.”

Gillespie also called the victory, “the hardest thing that I’ve ever worked for. I left this really good job to work in the heat and walk like 10,000 miles. I really hoped I would win this because this is literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

Should Gillespie prevail this fall, there will likely be a change on the Broken Arrow City Council as she takes over a seat Nathan Dahm relinquished due to term limits. Gillespie wrapped up her victory by telling supporters to think about serving the public.

“Are you the next city councilor? Are you the next school board member? Are you the next state representative? Are you the next committee member with the city? There’s nothing I have done that you can’t learn. There’s nothing that anybody has done that you can’t learn,” she said.

Woolley unseats Davis

An upset was registered Tuesday in House District 98, as political newcomer Gabe Woolley eked out a 28-vote victory over Dean Davis in the Republican runoff. It was another election that is crucial for Broken Arrow.

Woolley took the Tulsa County portion of District 98 by 43 votes, and Davis won Wagoner County by 15 votes.

Woolley’s family has been embroiled in a fight with the Department of Human Service over regaining custody of Clayton Woolley, who was taken from his grandparents’ home in 2018 due to criminal charges that were later dropped.

Woolley has said that wasn’t the reason he ran for office, but the case opened his eyes to the need for accountability.

Davis was elected in 2019 and garnered a faithful following during the campaign as he sought a third term, although he was dogged for two drunk-driving arrests that fueled calls by some for his ouster. Davis had disputed the arrests.

Wagoner County sheriff holds on

Chris Elliott, sheriff of one of the fastest growing counties in Oklahoma, survived a major test Tuesday, as he defeated Tyler Cooper in a Republican runoff by just 35 votes.

Cooper had an advantage going in early and absentee voting, but Elliott turned out 108 more voters on Tuesday to emerge victorious. Elliott was first elected as sheriff in 2016.

The two candidates fought a fierce battle, with Elliott running on his vast experience in law enforcement and Cooper promising to reorganize staff for efficiency and boost morale at the sheriff’s department.

Very tight Tulsa mayor’s race

When Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum announced he would not seek another term, it opened a floodgate of candidates seeking the office.

It was an incredibly tight race, but Karen Keith (32.62%) and Monroe Nichols (33.10%) will proceed to a runoff election in November because no candidate reached 50%. Brent VanNorman finished a very close third with 31.84% of the vote. It’s unclear if a recount would change any of the results.