July 1, 2020
By News Director Jared Atha
Oklahomans went to the polls Tuesday to cast their vote in the primary and special elections.
Locally two incumbent sheriff’s saw their challenger pull off shocking upsets while two others were able to retain their seats.
In Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning garnered 59% of the vote and was able to retain his seat that was challenged by Deputy Wes Henry.
Manning says he’s proud of the culture that has been established at the sheriff’s office and looks to continue the positive momentum.
In Roger Mills County, incumbent Sheriff Darren Atha was upset by challenger Brian Smith. Smith obtained 51% of the vote to win that race.
It was a different story in Custer County where challenger Dan Day received 65% of the vote to unseat Sheriff Kenneth Tidwell.
Joe Janz will remain the Kiowa County Sheriff after receiving 55% of the vote, retaining the seat over challenger Brynn Barnett.
Oklahoma voters narrowly decided on Tuesday to expand Medicaid health insurance to tens of thousands low-income residents, becoming the first state to amend its Constitution to do so.
With 100% of precincts reporting unofficial results, State Question 802 passed by less than 1 percentage point. The question fared well in metropolitan areas, including Oklahoma City and Tulsa, but was overwhelmingly opposed in rural counties, including most of western Oklahoma.
Amending the Oklahoma Constitution will prevent the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has resisted Medicaid expansion for a decade, from tinkering with the program or rolling back coverage.
State Question 802 will extend Medicaid health insurance to those earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level, which is about $17,200 for an individual or $35,500 for a family of four.
Oklahoma was one of 14 states, along with neighboring Texas and Kansas, that had not expanded Medicaid under the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act. Gov. Kevin Stitt and his predecessor, Mary Fallin, have opposed expansion, citing uncertainty about future costs for the state.
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority has projected that about 215,000 residents would qualify for a Medicaid expansion, for a total annual cost of about $1.3 billion. The estimated state share would be about $164 million. But those numbers could be considerably higher given the number of Oklahomans who have lost their jobs and work-related health insurance because of the economic shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
To help fund the proposal, the Legislature is expected to increase a fee that hospitals pay from 2.5% to 4%, which would generate about $134 million annually. Stitt vetoed such a measure earlier this year.
