President Donald Trump's first EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, resigned in July of last year. The photo was taken by the Associated Press.
Despite a history of winning statewide contests and a star turn in the Trump administration, former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt badly lost his bid for a political comeback in his home state.
T.W. Shannon, a former state lawmaker, and Markwayne Mullin, a congressman, advanced to a second round of voting.
It was a stunning fall for a candidate who previously won statewide office and enjoyed more national media coverage than most other competitors.
As Oklahoma's attorney general, he won two elections. He gained a national reputation for leading a lawsuit against the Obama administration's signature climate regulation because of his close ties with the oil and gas industry. He gutted the agency's career staff and championed radical changes to how public health rules are written.
Pat McFerron, a prominent Republican strategist in Oklahoma, said that he benefited from the national media's interest in him.
McFerron said that earned media only got him so far and that he entered the contest late against popular figures already committed and active in the contest.
Markwayne Mullin is in a race against T.W. Shannon in Oklahoma.
It has been six years since he left Oklahoma. He hadn't been on the ballot since 2010 because he was running for attorney general.
McFerron said that it was a lifetime in Oklahoma. During that time, our Republican primary electorate has gone crazy.
The truncated tenure in Trump's administration could not have aided him. In July of last year, Scott Pruitt resigned as the nation's 14th and second- shortest-serving EPA chief amid a swirl of scandals that included his extravagant spending of public money, a sweetheart deal on a Capitol Hill condo he rented from a gas lobbyist, and his abuse of his
At one point, Inhofe supported holding public hearings to investigate the allegations against the EPA boss.
His abrupt departure seemed to extinguish what had been a promising and ambitious career for the Republican, who had entertained the thought of becoming Trump's next attorney general.
McFerron said that his reputation was positive in the state.
The senator from Oklahoma announced in February that he would be retiring.
Fighting against those wishing ill on oil and gas is a good place to be in Oklahoma politics.
A number of members of Trump's Cabinet lost elections at home. The former U.S. attorney general was defeated by a football coach in a primary in 2020 for the seat. Tuberville was endorsed by Trump, who was upset with the attorney general for recusing himself from the investigation into the president's dealings withrussia.
The Oklahoma Senate race was not endorsed by Trump. Mullin was re-elected to congress in 2020. During the campaign, Mullin and Shannon shared similarities with Trump.
Democrats in the state legislature blocked Andrew Wheeler from being confirmed as Virginia's top environmental official.
Ryan Zinke, the former Interior Secretary who left the administration amid his own ethics scandals, is expected to win his seat in Congress.
The Republican primary for Montana's 1st Congressional District was close. In a general election where Republicans are favored to win, the former House member is seen as the front-runner.
The article was first published on HuffPost.
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