By Conrad Easterday, CTCN Editor

Stacy Jo Adams and Andrew Aldridge are both confident they can win the Aug. 27 run-off election for the 50th District seat in the Oklahoma House.
Both are Republicans. Both have similar views on policy, and both survived the winnowing process of the Republican primary, so why should either candidate feel they have an advantage over the other?
Adams fell just eight points shy of winning 50 percent of the vote in the Republican primary. Not getting that extra 8 percent kept her from winning the election outright since it would have eliminated all the other Republican candidates in a contest without any Democrat opponents.
With two candidates from the primary eliminated and no longer taking votes away from her, Adams thinks she can garner enough new supporters to wrest the victory away from Aldridge.
“I think I’m going to win,” said Adams, who owns and operates a Duncan insurance agency with her husband. “I do think it’s going to be a tight race, but I think I’ll win.”
Statistically, however, Aldridge thinks the race belongs to him.
“Absolutely, I can overcome the second place finish in the primary,” said Aldridge, the state director of Peer Resolution for Oklahoma Students. “Statistically, three out of four times, the second most votes in the primary wins the run-off.”
He hinted that supporters of primary candidate Clayton Pickard will shift their allegiance to him given their similarities as born-and-raised sons of the 50th District.
“A lot of people had a hard time choosing between us,” Aldridge said.
Neither candidate has held public office previously, and while Adams doesn’t want to be a career politician, she believes the learning curve at the capital will probably require more than one two-year term for her to be effective, although nothing’s written in stone.
Aldridge hopes to be a “mover and shaker” immediately.
“My whole focus is to win this election. It (multiple terms) is probably a session-to-session decision,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll be a mover and shaker as soon as I get up there.”
As to what they hope to accomplish first when they arrive at the Capitol, the two candidates didn’t offer any specific bills they would introduce, but Aldridge promised a more aggressive approach than his opponent.
“The first objective for any new state representative is to communicate to leadership about his experience, and to find a place and committee where I can be effective,” Aldridge said, promising to author and champion a number of measures.
He said he hopes to get a leadership position on a committee despite the fact that he would be a first-term representative. Growing up on a cow-calf operation in Stephens County and working with at-risk youth, he hopes he can get committee assignments in those areas.
Adams is a supporter of education and respects the learning process for legislators too.
“I know that when you get up there you learn for the first year,” she explained. “I do intend to speak up and be a voice for the people of the 50th District. I think things are moving in the right direction, and I will learn as I get in there.”
On the campaign trail, Adams noted she has been seeking out voters door-to-door and at more than a dozen public forums — far more than her opponent. She’s also employing social media and advertising in print and through direct mail to get her message out. Her campaign is mostly self-funded, she said.
Aldridge says he is focusing as much as possible on door knocking.
“Obviously, social media has its place, (but) I’m a little bit old school. I find it valuable to go to the door,” he said. “It’s been the center focus of my campaign.”
In policy matters, Aldridge and Adams are similar conservatives.
Education
Adams: Supports public schools and a parent’s voice in education. “It’s a parent’s choice what the best type of education for their children. Not every student learns the same way.” She’s concerned by some of the things she’s heard about school-based health centers, chiefly that they can provide counseling, prescriptions to children without a parent’s consent.
“I’m against any woke agenda. I believe that’s educators too. Most of the ones I’ve talked to they don’t want DEI (philosophy) in our schools.”
Aldridge: Education is a hot topic for Oklahomans. The state is well-known for the perennially low ranking of its public schools. In 2023, a WalletHub study scored Oklahoma next to last in 49th place.
“I always say students are not our future, they’re our present,” he said.
The major need for the education system is the teacher shortage crisis. Incentives need to be offered to bring retired teachers back into the classroom. Not having enough Chromebooks and up-to-date Chromebooks is another detriment to students, but it’s just one example of the ways available to support classroom instruction.
“We’re going to have to be innovative (to address the low rankings),” he said, noting low reading levels contribute to behavioral problems and dropping out of school.
Crime/Public Safety
Adams: She’s a strong supporter of law enforcement and funding to keep Oklahoma streets safe.
Her son is a K-9 officer in Lawton.
“Always back the boys in blue,” she said.
Aldridge: “Multiple people have told me being from Duncan we’re hours away from the border,” he said. “We need to have the right protocols and set up our police to be successful.”
Rural areas such as the 50th District have few places for juvenile offenders and those in need of mental health treatments to attack “the foundational problem we’re seeing in crimes.”
He also said the Legislature needs to look at how deputies are paid and how Oklahoma handles retirement opportunities for law enforcement officers.
Agriculture
Adams: Farmers need less regulation, she said. Besides their insurance business, the Adams’ operate a small cattle operation.
Aldridge: Agriculture is his specialty, he says, having been farm-raised. “We’re losing the battle for the family farm.”
He praised the current Legislature for adding an extra math credit to graduation requirements. “That’s how we build future agriculturists.”
Environment
Adams: She is pro oil and gas. “The U.S. needs to be self-sufficient. I believe we can do that in a responsible way. Most of the people I’ve spoken with say they don’t like the wind generators. The cure is worse than the problem.”
Aldridge: “We’re really passionate about making sure oil and gas is a priority. I’m a huge proponent of drilling more. Industry leaders like Halliburton need to continue to be innovators.”
Abortion
Adams: “I am pro-life from conception to natural death.”
Aldridge: As a pro-life legislator he will continue to protect legislation already in place.
2nd Amendment
Adams: She has been endorsed by the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association and earned an AQ rating from the NRA.
Aldridge: “In Oklahoma, we will always defend our 2nd Amendment rights.”
Veterans
Adams: She comes from a long line of service members from her great-grandfather, grandfather, and father, sister and stepbrother. “Definitely a supporter of veterans.”
Aldridge: Quality health care and access to mental health care are two critical issues for servicemen and women. The question is how to get specialists to come to Duncan and Stephens County. Driving into Oklahoma City is too far for many veterans.
In addition, veterans often struggle with trying to make ends meet on fixed incomes. Gov. Stitt has talked about income tax relief.