Oklahoma must demand better Republican leaders

yahoo.com · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The real crisis in politics today is not policy. It’s people. Voters must rescue conservatism from Republicans by demanding better leaders.In January, Oklahoma gubernatorial candidates raced to denounce a proposal before the Broken Arrow City Council to build a Muslim mosque. That this was an urgent campaign issue signals a remarkable detachment from mainstream America. In a world where institutional erosion, economic instability and global conflict are rising, one thing is clear: Our Muslim neighbors are not the problem. And yet one of these candidates will become our next governor, raising serious concerns about the quality of our candidates.A group of people against State Question 836 stand Jan. 17 in the parking lot of the Belle Isle Public Library in Oklahoma City, where Mayor David Holt made himself available to discuss the measure with the public.Or take the upcoming U.S. Senate election where Markwayne Mullin is seeking reelection. Mullin tried to physically fight a Senate hearing witness in 2023, casting aside his legislative duties and putting an adolescent view of masculinity on full display. Last year, Mullin announced he would approve all presidential nominees without examination, many of whom we knew were controversial at best. The Senate was designed by James Madison, in part, as a necessary check on the executive branch (see Federalist 51, 63). Now more than ever, we need the Senate to apply scrutiny to the president who increasingly acts on a whim without consequence.More broadly, no Republican candidate for any race has acknowledged, much less condemned, the assault on our nation's Capitol on Jan. 6, 2020. Nor have we heard them utter any concern about federal overreach in Minnesota. They made excuses for the president when he called for the GOP to nationalize elections. There was notable silence when President Donald Trump’s name was found throughout the Epstein files. Concern about the national debt flew out the window long ago. The list goes on, but the pattern is clear.More: Oklahoma's political system is broken. SQ 836 will help | OpinionIn short, our state's Republican candidates are long on loyalty to Trump but short on commitment to the conservative principles that once united the party. We must break this cycle of foolishness. Many Oklahomans want serious leadership from principled conservatives, but the current system denies us the option. Our closed primary system is not inherently flawed, but it does incentivize these types of extreme partisan and performative people rather than serious candidates.It’s against this backdrop that Oklahoma is set to consider State Question 836, which would create an open primary system that allows citizens to vote for any candidate, regardless of political party.As with anything, there are tradeoffs. Opponents use words, such as "California" and "New York" to scare or shame those who consider supporting the measure. But I’ve yet to discover any sound logic behind the dire warnings.Here's what we do know:Open primaries would shift the focus away from fringe party agendas back to the candidates themselves, where they belong. This way candidates speak for themselves, and their messages don’t get filtered through political party machines. This would encourage them to exercise better judgment in elevating issues worthy of public debate and to frame them in a way that strengthens our shared commitment to liberty rather than inflame divisions. By widening the field, open primaries would create space for statesmen who speak truth instead of conspiracy, who persuade rather than provoke and who lead with discernment rather than outrage. Leadership like this engages boldly but cordially, rejects name-calling and casts a positive vision that voters can unite behind.To say it another way, open primaries would have a moderating effect on candidates. Not in the sense of creating "RINO" candidates with watered-down principles. Quite the opposite. It would moderate them from extreme tribalism. This is about rescuing conservatism from degradation — not abandoning it. In this way, it would invite true conservatives who hold fast to first principles, such as limiting government from overreach, upholding the rule of law, fiscal restraint, strong (not cavalier) foreign policy that encourages (but doesn’t build) democracy overseas, pro- (but not illegal) immigration policies and respecting the separation of church and state.More: Democrats liked closed primaries when they had majority | OpinionCandidates like this are currently discouraged from running because the large middle segment of voters are less avid about participating in primary elections. This is so engrained that without structural change, we’ll likely get more of the same.To be clear, this is not a full-throated pitch for open primaries. Rather, it’s a plea to voters to insist on higher quality candidates and an acknowledgement that the current closed primary system discourages them from running in the first place. Open primaries might help, but the hard truth is – open primaries or not– voters must raise their standards for candidates if Oklahoma’s leadership is to improve.Our state has a long, proud history of independence. Why would we allow ourselves to be shackled to the agendas of political parties or the outsized influence of a singular political figure when it prevents independent conservative thinkers from running. We can do so much better. But change starts with us, the voters.Clay LightfootClay Lightfoot is a former Senate staffer for U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). He currently lives in Oklahoma City and works in the oil & gas industry.This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Being a true conservative doesn't require supporting Trump | Opinion