Scott Pruitt, who was scandal-ridden as the Environmental Protection Agency’s chief under Donald Trump, filed Friday to run for an Oklahoma Senate seat.
Pruitt (53), a former state senator from Oklahoma and Oklahoma attorney general, is running for the seat being vacated longtime Republican senator JimInhofe.
Pruitt resigned as EPA administrator in 2018 amid a series of ethics scandals. Pruitt also lived in a bargain Capitol Hill condo linked to an energy lobbyist.
He was also subjected to ethics investigations over expensive flights with first-class seats and unusual security spending. This included a $43,000 soundproof booth used for private calls.
He also demanded 24-hour protection from armed officers. This resulted in a 20-member security team that was overburdened by overtime budgets and accrued expenses of more than 3 million.
Trump was Pruitt’s staunch advocate of the continued use fossil fuels and coal. Pruitt also voiced doubts about mainstream climate science and was a strong critic of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Trump praised Pruitt’s efforts to increase fossil fuel production and repeal regulations that corporate interests oppose. Pruitt, who left the agency, registered as an Indiana energy lobbyist.
Pruitt spoke briefly to Friday’s Washington DC press conference and said that he led with conviction. He also explained that the criticism against him was a result of leading an agency that was the American left’s holy grail.
Pruitt stated that Pruitt made a difference. Oklahomans understand that even though the New York Times, CNN and MSNBC are against you and you are being attacked by them, Oklahomans are there for you.
Pruitt will have to compete with a crowded primary field for Inhofe’s replacement. Inhofe, 87 was the one who shocked Oklahoma politics by announcing that he would be stepping down in January. This announcement came just two years into a six year term.
Ten Republican hopefuls have filed to run, including Markwayne Mullin (ex-Speaker of the Oklahoma House TW Shannon), Inhofes longtime chief staff, Luke Holland, Nathan Dahm, and Alex Gray, who was the former chief staff of Trump’s national security council.
Kendra Horn, a former congresswoman, was the only Democrat who filed for the seat before Friday’s early afternoon, the last day of the three-day candidate filing period.
Inhofes announcement means that both Oklahoma’s US Senate seats will be up for grabs in this cycle. James Lankford, the current senator is running for a six-year extension.
In the GOP primary, Lankford will face Jackson Lahmeyer (Tulsa pastor) The post was also sought by four Democrats, a Libertarian, and an independent this week.
The most competitive US House race will be for the second congressional seat in eastern Oklahoma. This seat is currently being vacated and is being held by Mullin. There are at least 13 candidates for the post, 12 Republicans and one independent.
