Indianz.Com > News > ‘The only true Native American in the Senate’: Markwayne Mullin assures himself of victory at tribal event
‘The only true Native American in the Senate’
Republican Markwayne Mullin assures himself of victory at tribal event
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Indianz.Com
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Markwayne Mullin is poised to make history as the first tribal citizen in the U.S. Senate in nearly two decades but not all Native voters are happy.
Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, already secured the Republican nomination for an open Senate seat in Oklahoma. In light of his state’s strong conservative tilt, he’s already predicting victory at the polls this November.
“I’m going to be the only true Native American in the Senate when I get elected,” Mullin said on Wednesday morning at the 39th annual National Tribal Health Conference in the nation’s capital.
“That’s crazy,” said Mullin, who currently serves in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he is one of four tribal citizens in the chamber.
But a number of attendees at the conference, hosted by the National Indian Health Board, aren’t looking forward to the anticipated win. Scattered boos and muttered comments could be heard throughout the crowd as Mullin spoke about Native representation in politics at a hotel just a short walk from the U.S. Capitol.
“I’m thinking — how crazy that we’re true Native Americans, the first Americans — and we’re so underrepresented in the halls of Congress,” said Mullin. For years, he was just one of two tribal citizens in the House, up until Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids made history as the first two Native women in the chamber more than three years ago.


The Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in Oklahoma is Kendra Horn. She previously served one term in the U.S. House, having won election in 2018. She was the first Democratic woman to represent Oklahoma in Congress and the first Democrat in the state’s delegation to Congress since the Barack Obama era. Political observers consider the seat to be solidly in the hands of the Republican Party. A poll completed this month shows Mullin with a sizable lead over Horn. Despite the odds, Bristow and Shangreau from the Osage Nation plan to vote for Horn in the upcoming election. And despite Mullin’s confidence, Bristow said he will continue to speak out against the Republican candidate. “I still have a voice,” Bristow said.Between overturning #Roe, an extreme #AbortionBan and my opponent Rep. Markwayne Mullin voting against birth control… we are at a crossroads. We all need to fight this extremism. Help us keep our first ad on the air 👉https://t.co/n23Zefsd2M pic.twitter.com/cWYLCzhLjP
— Kendra Horn (@VoteKendraOK) July 27, 2022
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