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Senator Darcy Jech -
JJ Stitt -
Brady Butler
OKLAHOMA — State Sen. Darcy Jech, who has represented Watonga and all of District 26 in the Oklahoma Legislature since 2015, has drawn two announced primary challengers so far ahead of what would be his final reelection campaign in 2022.
The Kingfisher Republican will face JJ Stitt, another Kingfisher native, and Fay resident Brady Butler for the GOP nomination for the seat.
“I welcome it,” Jech told the Watonga Republican. “In this position, with the big district I have, I’m always on the road attending chamber events, school activities, FFA meetings and the like. That’s honestly one of my favorite parts of this job, is getting out and meeting people, and the campaign will give me more opportunities to do that.”
Jech ran unopposed for reelection in 2018.
Stitt, a distant relative of current Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, announced his candidacy in a press release earlier this month. “He’s eager to serve the people and places he grew up around and fight for the interests of western Oklahoma,” the release says.
Stitt said he is a 20-year law enforcement veteran who owns and operates a firearms business and recently took over a family farm. Stitt knows the election will be “an uphill battle,” he said, but believes “the people of western Oklahoma deserve someone who will listen to them and represent their interests at the State Capitol.”
Stitt recently visited the Hinton Record/Watonga Republican offices in Watonga, and said he has been visiting business owners in Watonga, Clinton, Weatherford and Kingfisher as well.
Butler, meanwhile, owns a small oil and gas company and describes himself as a “regular guy” and devout Christian who’s concerned about “the direction our country is going.” Butler embraces the concept of nullification, meaning he wants Oklahoma not to follow federal laws or court rulings it disagrees with.
He encouraged district residents to contact him at 580-330-3337. Stitt’s website is www.jjStitt.com, and Jech’s contact information can be found on his Facebook page, Facebook.com/SenatorDarc yJech.
The revamped District 26 they aim to represent will no longer extend to the Texas border, but will include all of Custer, Blaine and Caddo counties as well as the western portions of Canadian and Kingfisher counties.
The primary elections are on June 28, 2022.