2016 election
Nichols was listed as one of over 30 individuals who filed for office with ties to education in 2016. [15] During the 2016 election,no Libertarian or independent candidate filed to run in district 72. [6] One Republican,Whitney Cole,filed to run in the district. However,Nichols filed a challenge to their candidacy and the Election Board removed them from the ballot,making the Democratic primary election the de facto election for the seat. [16] Maria Barnes,a former Tulsa city councilor,and Nichols were the only two candidates. [6] The Tulsa World endorsed Nichols in the 2016 Democratic primary election calling him a voice "for the future." [17] Nichols was also endorsed by Kathy Taylor. He narrowly defeated Maria Barnes in the primary election. [18] On November 17,2016,Monroe Nichols became the first African-American elected to represent Oklahoma House District 72. [3]
Tenure
On May 1,2017,Nichols co-hosted the first Hispanic Cultural Day at the state Capitol. [19]
In 2018,A.C. Forst challenged Nichols in the Democratic primary. Forst campaigned on being more politically moderate than Nichols. [20] Nichols was endorsed by the Tulsa World and Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce. [21] [22] Nichols won the Democratic primary and faced no general election opponent. [23]
In January 2020,Nichols was one of over 200 signatories asking Tulsa mayor G.T. Bynum to not bring Live PD to Tulsa. [24] Later that month he was one of a group of lawmakers who criticized Governor Kevin Stitt for appointing members to the University of Oklahoma board of regents who live outside of the state. All three members of the board appointed by Stitt had recently missed an eight hour board meeting. [25] In June,he called for the creation of a state level independent monitor to investigate police shootings and an Oklahoma law enforcement database to alert departments if an applicant had previously resigned from employment during an internal investigation and prior to being fired for cause. [26] [27]
In 2020,Maria Barnes challenged Nichols in the Democratic primary for a second time. [28] The Tulsa World endorsed Nichols again for the 2020 election. [29] Nichols defeated Barnes with 69% of the vote in the Democratic primary. Republican Ismail A. Shan had been removed from the ballot after a challenge to his candidacy for living outside the district. [30] Therefore,Nichols was re-elected without a general election. [31]
During the 2020 election cycle Nichols also worked as a senior advisor for the Michael Bloomberg presidential campaign in Oklahoma. [32] He also endorsed Greg Robinson in the 2020 Tulsa mayoral election. [9]
In May 2021,Nichols stepped down from the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission in protest of Governor Kevin Stitt's signing of HB 1775,calling the bill "a direct shot in the face for all of us who have been working hard on the commission,for all of us who have been working toward recognition,reconciliation. I would have to say it was the most disruptive thing that a governor could have done. And Kevin Stitt did it with a smile on his face." [33]
While Nichols reportedly considered running in the 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial election,he declined after both Connie Johnson and Joy Hofmeister announced their campaigns. [34] Nichols was re-elected to his house seat without opposition in 2022. [35] During the 59th Oklahoma Legislature,Nichols authored one successful bill which allowed police officers to issue warnings to people with outstanding warrants,instead of requiring an arrest. [3]
