Senator Coburn has decided he will resign early from the Senate. He had previously expressed plans to not run again in 2016 but has decided to resign two years early.
Serving as Oklahoma’s senator has been, and continues to be, one of the great privileges and blessings of my life. But, after much prayer and consideration, I have decided that I will leave my Senate seat at the end of this Congress.
As a citizen, I am now convinced that I can best serve my own children and grandchildren by shifting my focus elsewhere. In the meantime, I look forward to finishing this year strong. I intend to continue our fight for Oklahoma, and will do everything in my power to force the Senate to re-embrace its heritage of debate, deliberation and consensus as we face our many challenges ahead.
Senator Coburn’s current term isn’t due to to end until 2016. So that means that a special election is required to fill the remaining two years of his term. Thanks to the timing of Coburn’s resignation, Governor Fallin was able to set the special election to correspond with the November general election.
This puts Oklahoma in a position it doesn’t normally find itself in, that of electing two US Senators in a single year. While whoever is elected to fill Coburn’s term will only serve two years before being back up for reelection, it is still a unique experience for Oklahoma voters.
We will keep an eye on this special election as well as that for Senator Inhofe.
