Republican leaders are quickly lining up behind their pick to replace Sen. Markwayne Mullin in Oklahoma. On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott backed Rep. Kevin Hern for the open seat, signaling a push to clear the GOP field in the reliably red state, Politico reports. Thune called Hern a "proven conservative leader" and said he'd be a "great asset" in the Senate. Hern, 64, owned 18 McDonald's franchises before he was elected to the House in 2018.
Their endorsements follow one from President Trump, who has praised Hern on Truth Social as a "true friend of MAGA" who "is strongly supported by the fiercest MAGA Warriors in Oklahoma," as well as Senate leaders. The seat opened after Trump selected Mullin, who was elected to the Senate in a special election in 2022, to take over as Homeland Security secretary from Kristi Noem. His nomination was approved by a Senate panel in an 8-7 vote Thursday, with Democratic Sen. John Fetterman in support and Republican Sen. Rand Paul opposed.
Hern is running in November for the full six-year term, but Gov. Kevin Stitt must first appoint a temporary replacement—who, under Oklahoma law, will be barred from running for the seat long term. Stitt and Rep. Stephanie Bice, another member of Oklahoma's all-Republican House delegation, have both ruled out Senate bids. Bice said last week that she had "received encouragement from every corner of this great state" to launch a Senate bid, but she said on Friday that she had decided against it, the New York Times reports. Trump endorsed Hern hours later.
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