On Tuesday, Oklahoma voters flocked to the polls to cast their votes in the Oklahoma State Primary Elections. Voters were able to cast their vote for Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner and, in state district two, United States Representative. In Bryan County, voters also had the chance to choose a candidate for sheriff and vote for district 2 county commissioner.
In the election for District 2 Bryan County Commissioner, incumbent Tony Simmons ran for re-election against Chad White. Simmons scored a majority of 73.77% with 897 of the votes. White came in with 319 votes, 26.23%.
In the race for Bryan County sheriff, five candidates participated in the election to see who will replace current sheriff Bill Sturch. In the Republican primary, John D. Wyatt beat his opponent, Wayne Levins, with 57.09% of the vote with 652 votes cast for him. Levins came in with 490 of the votes or 42.91%.
Wyatt said, “I would like to thank my volunteers for their hard work and commitment to elect me as their next Bryan County Sheriff. Thanks to my supporters for getting out to vote and showing a strong presence at the polls. This was a convincing win and I am thankful for the citizens of this wonderful county. Congratulations to Ken (Golden) and Johnny (Bates) on their chance to continue. Congratulations to the volunteer firemen. They worked hard at getting this (sales tax) passed.”
In the Democratic primary, current Undersheriff Kenneth Golden took 44.43%, or 1,595 of the votes.
He said, “I always knew that a divine hand was preparing me for something. I’ve had a wonderful career in law enforcement and He’s given me a gift of patience, tolerance and responsibility. I want to thank the citizens of Bryan County for their show of support. We still have a runoff election in August and general election in November. I commend each of the candidates for running a clean and challenging race. To my contributors I say ‘thank you.’ But last I want to thank Sheriff Bill Sturch for 20 years (of service). He has given me an opportunity to work in Bryan County for the finest people in the world, where folks still wave going down the road or from a tractor in the middle of a hay field. Thank you Bill and thank you Bryan County.”
John L. Bates secured 1,083 of the votes, 30.17%. He said, “I figured there would be a run-off election between the Democrats. We’re going to start over in August, so we need to just go back out there and keep working and see how it goes. There was a low turnout last night, so I think we need to get out there and get people to vote – that’s the most important thing. I’m happy we made it and I want to congratulate Mr. Brown and Ken [Golden] on running fair and competitive campaigns.”
Roy J. Brown came in third with 912 of the votes, 25.4%.
Bates and Golden will have a run off Aug. 28, and the winner will face Wyatt in the November general election.
Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony secured himself a fifth term in Bryan County and statewide by receiving 63.93% of the votes over his opponent, Brooks Mitchell, who scored 36.07% of the votes. Anthony received 677 votes, while Mitchell received 382.
In the United States Representative Republican Primary, George Faught took 576 of the votes in Bryan County and won with 47.21%. The other Republican candidates in order of votes received are: Dustin Rowe, 262 votes, 21.48%; Markwayne Mullin, 198 votes, 16.23%; Dakota Wood, 83 votes, 6.8%; Wayne Pettigrew, 74 votes, 6.07%; and Dwayne Thompson, 27 votes, 2.21%.
In the United States Representative Democratic Primary for Bryan County, it was a close tie between Wayne Herriman and Rob Wallace. Wallace secured the majority with 1,505 votes and 44.25% of votes cast. Herriman came in at a close second with 1,476 votes, 43.4%. The third candidate, Earl E. Everett, scored 420 votes, 12.35% of the total. These votes only reflect Bryan County and not the whole district.
According to the Bryan County Election Board, voter turnout was low, compared to the last primary.













