Markwayne Mullin has made history as the first tribal citizen to win election to the U.S. Senate in nearly two decades.

With more than 93 percent of precincts reporting, Mullin received nearly 63 percent of the vote as of late Tuesday night, according to unofficial results from the Oklahoma State Election Board. His Democratic challenger Kendra Horn only had about 34 percent — too far behind to overcome the Republican victor’s lead.

“There isn’t a person in this room that has sat back and done nothing,” Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, said in an election victory speech at the Stokely Event Center in Tulsa. “You guys have all been involved. You guys have all been in this fight with us.”

“And guys, I guarantee you, nobody will work harder than Washington, D.C., to get this country back on track,” Mullin said as he spoke of inflation and rising costs in America, and of his opposition to Democratic politicians.

The last tribal citizen to serve in the Senate was Ben “Nighthorse” Campbell, who is enrolled in the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. He retired in 2005 following two terms in the chamber. Previously, he served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mullin’s political path has been similar, though he couldn’t quite remember the name of his trailblazing Republican predecessor during a tribal event in Washington, D.C., in September. He has represented Oklahoma’s 2nd congressional district in the House since 2013, having served a total of four terms.

During his time in the House, Mullin has been a part of the Congressional Native American Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers that works to advance Indian Country legislation. In the 117th Congress, the current session, he is one of five tribal citizens in the chamber — a record number, though the fifth just joined after a historic special election in September. Overall, six lawmakers of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian origin are serving, a first in U.S. history.

But once he’s sworn into the Senate in January 2023, Mullin will be the sole tribal citizen there. He referred to himself as the “only true Native American in the Senate when I get elected” during the 39th annual National Tribal Health Conference in D.C. on September 28.

Though the event, which was hosted by the National Indian Health Board, was not technically a campaign stop, his speech marked one of the few times he has spoken about Indian issues during his Senate run. He highlighted his efforts to bring adequate funding to the Indian Health Service, the federal agency that serves more than 2.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives across the country.

“I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, I don’t care,” Mullin told tribal health leaders in the nation’s capital, after noting that he has received care from the IHS in the past.

“When we’re fighting for Indian Country, we’re fighting for Indian Country,” Mullin said. “And that’s first.”

Mullin succeeds Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), who has served in the Senate since 1994. The departing lawmaker announced his retirement on February 25.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) now becomes the senior U.S. Senator in Oklahoma, having won re-election on Tuesday. He has served on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs during his time in the chamber.

The Senate has been evenly split between Democrats and Republicans during the 117th Congress. But the Democratic party has the upper hand due to the presence of Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the chamber. The Democrats have controlled the committee’s and the legislative process as a result.

The 118th Congress starts in January. The outcome of the races that will determine which party controls the Senate have not fully been called as of late Tuesday night.

Tonight's victory is the honor of my lifetime, and a great win for our country.

I want to thank all the Oklahomans who supported our campaign and volunteered to elect strong Republicans across the state. (1/2)

— Markwayne Mullin (@MarkwayneMullin) November 9, 2022

Tonight, the American people rejected Joe Biden's extreme Socialist movement, and embraced a new conservative agenda to get America back on track. I am humbled to have the opportunity to serve the greatest state in the union in the U.S. Senate. God bless Oklahoma. (2/2)

— Markwayne Mullin (@MarkwayneMullin) November 9, 2022