November 2, 2020
By News Director Jared Atha
The 2020 Presidential Election is Tuesday and election officials expect a busy day at the polls.
Along with the rest of the nation, western Oklahomans will decide whether to keep incumbent President Donald Trump in the White House for a second term, or to elect a new president.
All voters in the area will also vote on the corporation commissioner position between Republican Todd Hiett and Libertarian candidate Todd Hagopian. For U.S. Senate, incumbent Jim Inhofe is being challenged by, among others, Democrat and former TV journalist Abby Broyles, and U.S. Representative Frank Lucas of Cheyenne is being challenged by Democrat Zoe Midyett.
Locally, two Oklahoma House of Representative seats are up for grabs. With Representative Harold Wright terming out, District 57 will see a new face with two Clinton lawyers challenging each other for the seat. Republican Anthony Moore will square off against Democrat Juan Garcia for the right to represent all of Custer County, and portions of Beckham, Blaine, Canadian, and Caddo Counties.
District 55 incumbent Representative Todd Russ is being challenged by Democrat Austin Gipson-Black. That district represents all of Washita and Roger Mills Counties, the majority of Beckham County, and parts of Greer and Kiowa Counties.
County races in the area sees challenger Barry Gowdy going up against Tate Finnell for Beckham County, County Commissioner District Number 2. In Roger Mills County Jymay Whitson McLeod and Janice Conway are squaring off for the County Clerk position, and in Washita County Lynda Vermillion and Kim Batt will face each other for the County Clerk job. Also in Washita County, Leo Goeringer will face off against Stephen Taylor for District 2 County Commissioner.
In the City of Clinton, incumbent Mayor David Berrong is being challenged by Mustafa Sami and Paul Brown, and in the City of Weatherford, two city council positions are up for grabs. The first in ward 1 between Terri Lockhart and Rick Miller, and in ward 2 between Warren Goldmann and Lezley Bell.
Oklahoma voters will also decide on two state questions that include State Question 805, a measure that, if passed, would not allow a convicted person’s sentence to be made longer or harsher due to past felony convictions, and State Question 814 that, if passed, would decrease the percentage of money that is deposited to the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund from funds the state receives from tobacco settlements and directing the state legislature to appropriate funds to secure federal matching funds for the state’s Medicaid program.
For sample ballots for Beckham, Custer, Roger Mills and Washita Counties – visit kecofm.com.
Beckham County Election Board Secretary Sherron Manning says she is already seeing signs that this year’s voting cycle could see a record turn out, based on the amount of voters that participated in early in-person voting last week, and the number of new registered voters. Manning says it would benefit voters to educate themselves before they head out to the polls.
Manning also reminds voters to bring a valid ID with them when they go to vote. She says a voter identification card, or any state or federally issued ID with a picture that is not expired will be accepted.
Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
