Why most Oklahoma state legislative races are uncontested

Oklahoma Watch

Lawton resident and former OU football player Larry Bush ran as a Democrat for House of Representatives in 2016, 2018 and 2020 losing all three times to a Republican opponent. The logo of his insurance business is the same as his former campaign. (Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma Watch)
Lawton resident and former OU football player Larry Bush ran as a Democrat for House of Representatives in 2016, 2018 and 2020 losing all three times to a Republican opponent. The logo of his insurance business is the same as his former campaign. (Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma Watch)

Nearly 70% of Oklahoma’s state legislative elections will be decided without a single vote cast in November.

Those uncontested, no-voters-required races span the state — from Bartlesville to Edmond to west Lawton, where a former Oklahoma Sooners football player named Larry Bush lost the closest state House race in 2018.

That November, nearly 75% of House and Senate races statewide included candidate…