Author :  Bryan Smith 
Date :  06/20/2008

(OK) When candidate filing closed this year, Oklahoma State Election Board officials cited two interesting occurrences: lower total filing numbers and younger candidates.

Though the Election Board does not keep age records on candidates for previous elections, staff did say that the candidates seemed to be younger than previous years.

Fifty-eight candidates under the age of 35 filed for the state House and the state Senate this year.

Of those 58 candidates, 18 were born in the 1980s. Four of them were born in 1985 or later. At least 12 candidates were born after President Ronald Reagan's inauguration in 1981 and never knew life before MTV, which was founded in August of the same year.

There are 25 young Democrats running for House seats and three for the Senate, while there are 23 Republicans running for the House and six in the Senate. Of those running in the House, there are five Democratic and seven Republican incumbents.

Young incumbents have also won re-election to the Legislature. Rep. Fred Jordan, R-Jenks, is 34; Rep. Skye McNeil, R-Bristow, is 29; Rep. Colby Schwartz, R-Yukon, is 34; and Rep. Eric Proctor, D-Tulsa, is 27. There are no Senate incumbents in this age category.

The youngest candidate, Republican Dustin McGowen for House District 54, is only 21 and is still working his way through college. He did not become politically aware until the more contentious days of President Bill Clinton's administration. It was the controversy circulating the Clinton administration that he said got him interested in politics in the first place. But now, like many others this season, McGowen is seeking "change."

Andrew Winningham, a Republican running for House District 87, turns 25 in late June. He said he became involved in politics for the first time during this year's presidential primary. Winningham said he was once quite liberal, but when he came back to Oklahoma after studying out of state, he found that there was a place for him in the Republican Party.

After helping during the campaigns, Winningham said he decided to run to restore conservative principles that he said are still alive and well within the Oklahoma Republican Party. Winningham carries a religious studies degree from the University of Oklahoma and is pursuing a law degree at Oklahoma City University.

Democrat Bill Snyder, 27, is seeking the House District 9 seat. The freelance journalist said he wanted to see politics from the "other side of the microphone." He said he hopes to work toward government accountability and transparency.

"It's not the government's money," said Snyder. "It's our money. Government must meet the needs of its people while also keeping the checkbook balanced."

Republican Cason Carter, who turned 31 this year, is running for Senate District 35. He has been endorsed by former Congressman Steve Largent, Congressman John Sullivan and former Tulsa Mayor Robert LaFortune.

"I have known Cason Carter since he was in third grade," says Largent on Carter's campaign Web site. "I have watched him grow into a very mature and capable young man with talent and aspirations."

Even at the age of 30, Carter has already served on the Tulsa City Council, where he helped sponsor a crackdown on illegal immigrants. He is also a practicing attorney.

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