Republican Dusty Deevers wins Lawton state Senate seat in Tuesday election

LAWTON — Republican Dusty Deevers defeated Larry Bush, a Democrat, in the special election Tuesday for the state Senate District 32 seat.

Deevers, a pastor, captured a little more than 55% of the votes with 3,104 votes. Bush, a former University of Oklahoma football player, earned 2,491 votes, about 45%. The pair were running for a seat vacated by GOP Sen. John Michael Montgomery, who resigned earlier this year to lead the Lawton Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce.

Tuesday night, Deevers told his supporters, "Look what God has done."

"In the face of a barrage of slanders and a war chest full of cash, we were conquerors," Deevers said, in a video broadcast on Facebook. "To the voters in Senate District 32, what an honor and privilege it is to represent you. Thank you. You are demanding our government come back under the authority of God's word and our Constitution. You have sent a clear signal to we who have run on the boldest platform that has ever been done."

Bush congratulated Deevers on a well-run campaign. He said he was disappointed by the loss.

"We had a great team who worked very hard, but unfortunately we came up short," he said. He said changes to the district presented challenges for his campaign.

"Because of the way the district was gerrymandered, it will remain hard to flip. They took out much of the African American vote," he said.

Deevers campaigned hard on cultural war issues. He told Oklahoma Voice he supported abolishing abortion. He said it was outrageous that abortion pills still flow legally and that pornography and no-fault divorce remain prevalent in society. Deevers said he was an advocate for “traditional marriage” and opposes drag queen story hours.

Bush, an insurance agent, ran as a champion of local businesses. He said public education was a passion, and he would stand against corrupt policies that divert funds to private schools in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Bush called for raises for public school teachers and increased classroom funding. Bush also called for reform in the criminal justice system.

Deevers will serve the remainder of Montgomery's term. State lawmakers return to the Capitol in February for the 2024 legislative session.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Lawton state Senate election: Dusty Deevers defeats Larry Bush