House District 39 special general election field set.

Republican Erick Harris, a former assistant state attorney general, and Democrat Regan Raff, owner of a bookkeeping company, won their special primary elections Tuesday and will square off against Libertarian Richard Prawdzienski, a U.S. Marine veteran on Feb. 13 for an open District 39 seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

The winner will replace former State Rep. Ryan Martinez, who resigned after pleading guilty to a felony offense of being in physical control of a vehicle while intoxicated.

With all precincts reporting, Harris defeated Ronda Peterson, an Edmond Public Schools employee, with 896 votes or 27.16 percent of the vote, to Peterson's 869 votes, or 26.34 percent, according to unofficial numbers from the State Election Board.

Harris said on his campaign Facebook page that he was running for public office to help better Oklahoma.

“I am running because I believe that Oklahoma needs dedicated leaders who are committed to making Oklahoma the best place to raise a family,” Harris said. “My family and I care deeply about the Edmond community. If chosen as your State Representative, I will bring new conservative leadership to the Capitol and will advocate for pro-family values. If elected, I pledge to prioritize the needs of Edmond families above all else!”

Raff thanked her supporters.

“I’m humbled by the support shown by the voters of House District 39 and can’t thank everyone enough for showing up today at the polls,” Raff said. “I’d like to also thank Paul Timmons for the campaign he ran and for stepping up to run for office.” 

Raff said she is running for office because Oklahoma faces many challenges.

 “I want us to have hope again, and I know we can bring people in our community together to have real conversations with each other,” she said. “I truly feel we have more in common with each other than what divides us. I’m ready to keep bringing our message of hope and positive change to the general election. Our public schools are underfunded and under attack. Families have to look out of state to get the healthcare they need. Extreme partisanship keeps our government from working to move our state forward. These are the challenges I will face head-on.”

Ten candidates filed for the open seat including seven Republicans — Cris Price, Ross Vanhooser, Kristen Ferate, William A. Gaige Jr. Tim Hale, Harris and Peterson and two Democrats, Raff and Paul Timmons.

Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats more than 2 to 1 in the House district that includes parts of Edmond and Oklahoma City. As of January, the district had 15,456 registered Republicans, 6,530 Democrats and 5,232 independents, according to Oklahoma State Election Board data.

The House District 39 boundary stretches as far north as Waterloo Road and runs south to 15th Street in Edmond. The district has Bryant Avenue on the eastern boundary and Western Avenue on the western boundary.

Polls open for the special general election open at 7a.m. and close at 7 p.m. February 13, 2024.