Durant is a city in Bryan County,Oklahoma,United States. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. It serves as the capital of the Choctaw Nation,and is the largest settlement on the reservation,ranking ahead of McAlester and Poteau. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical Area,which had a population of 46,067 in 2020. Durant is also part of the Dallas–Fort Worth Combined Statistical Area,anchoring the northern edge.
Lyle Hagler Boren was a U.S. Democratic Party politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma,serving from 1937 to 1947 and was defeated for renomination in the 1946 election. He was known for his independence in the party,opposing labor union strikes on defense plants and attempts to expand the federal government.
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is a Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly 6,952,960 acres,it is the second-largest reservation in area after the Navajo,exceeding that of eight U.S. states. The seat of government is located in Durant,Oklahoma.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public university in Durant,Oklahoma. It had a total enrollment of 5,376 in 2022.
David Lyle Boren is a retired American lawyer and politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senate from 1979 to 1994. A conservative Democrat,to date,he is the last in his party to have served as U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. He was the 13th and second-longest serving president of the University of Oklahoma from 1994 to 2018. He was the longest serving chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. On September 20,2017,Boren officially announced his retirement as president of the University of Oklahoma,effective June 30,2018.
The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman,Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Board of Regents.
Choctaw Country is the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation's official tourism designation for Southeastern Oklahoma. The name was previously Kiamichi Country until changed in honor of the Choctaw Nation headquartered there. The current definition of Choctaw Country includes ten counties,being Coal,Atoka,Bryan,Choctaw,McCurtain,Pushmataha,Le Flore,Latimer,Haskell,and Pittsburg counties. The department created the term as one of six designated travel regions within the state. However,other definitions of Southeastern Oklahoma may include additional counties.
Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders Arkansas,Kansas,Missouri,and Texas and includes a total of 24 counties. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+29,it is the most Republican district in Oklahoma,a state with an all-Republican congressional delegation.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held on November 4,2008. The statewide primary election was held July 29,with the run-off on August 26. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe won re-election to a third term over Democrat Andrew Rice.
James Clark "Jim" Nance was a leader for 40 years in the Oklahoma Legislature in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and was community newspaper chain publisher 66 years. Nance served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate. During his legislative career,Nance wrote the "Honest Mistake" law which became a model for other states. Nance then became a key sponsor and Legislative Chairman of the U.S. Uniform Law Commission (ULC),sponsored by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws,a non-partisan advisory panel which drafted uniform acts and uniform state commerce laws. Nance became known as a legislative expert in a 40-year legislative career as one of two Oklahomans to hold the top posts in both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature. The state's largest newspaper,The Daily Oklahoman wrote he was the "longest serving Oklahoma Legislator" and "A Legislator's Legislator." Nance,a Democrat,is the only Oklahoma House Speaker elected through a bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans. Fiercely independent,Nance considered public policy work to be a service and did not ever accept a salary or pension for any of his 40 years in the legislature and 24 years on the Uniform Law Commission. Nance refused to work as a lobbyist,although he had many offers after leaving office.
Steve Burrage is an American politician from Oklahoma and the Chairman of the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Burrage served as Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector upon his appointment to that post by Governor Brad Henry on July 10,2008,filling the vacancy created by the resignation of former state auditor Jeff McMahan. Burrage served until his defeat in the 2010 general election by Republican Gary Jones.
The 2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma took place on November 2,2004. The election was concurrent with elections to the United States House of Representatives and the presidential election. Incumbent Senator Don Nickles decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Fellow Republican Tom Coburn won the open seat.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held on November 2,2010. Incumbent Republican Senator Tom Coburn won re-election to a second term.
Billy Michael Burrage,is an attorney and former United States district judge of all three districts of the United States district courts for Oklahoma:the Eastern,Western and Northern. He was appointed and confirmed in 1994 under President Bill Clinton. In 1996,he became Chief Judge of the Eastern District of Oklahoma,and served all three courts until his retirement in 2001. At that time,he returned to private practice,during which he also represented the Choctaw Nation as its general counsel and ambassador to the U.S. government.
Arvo Quoetone Mikkanen is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma and a former federal judicial nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He has been a judicial law clerk,civil practitioner,judge,tribal prosecutor,law professor,and federal criminal prosecutor during his legal career which began in 1986. Mikkanen is a lecturer and frequent instructor in federal criminal investigations,prosecution issues and Indian affairs law. From 1991 to 1994,he served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.
William A. Durant was a Choctaw politician in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A lawyer,he sat in the tribal legislature and later became Speaker of the Choctaw Nation before its annexation in 1906. He played a role in Oklahoma statehood and served in the Oklahoma House,rising to become its third Speaker. He was the sponsor of a bill that created Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He served later in life as chief of the Choctaw Nation during World War II.
The 2014 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma took place on November 4,2014,to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Oklahoma,concurrently with the regularly-scheduled election to Oklahoma's other Senate seat,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 1920 United States Senate election in Oklahoma took place on November 2,1920. Incumbent Democratic Senator Thomas Gore ran for re-election to a third term. However,he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Congressman Scott Ferris. In the general election,Ferris faced fellow Congressman John W. Harreld,the Republican nominee. Likely helped by Republican presidential nominee Warren G. Harding's victory in Oklahoma over Democratic nominee James M. Cox,Harreld defeated Ferris by a similar margin to Harding's.
Harry James Watson "Jimmy" Belvin was a Native American educator who served as an Oklahoma State Representative and Senator. He was the first elected principal chief of any of the Five Civilized Tribes in the 20th century,and the longest serving principal chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He saw his tribe through termination,restoration,and a rebirth of Native Pride. He was a polarizing leader,seen by some as a semi-dictator who held onto the office of principal chief and used his power to advocate for complete assimilation into the dominant society,suppressing Choctaw traditions,language and ceremonial practices as undesirable remnants of an unrefined history. To others,he was a well-liked,populist leader,who went door-to-door talking with tribe members,informing them on issues,and trying to develop the means the alleviate the poverty and unemployment they faced.
The 1954 United States Senate election in Oklahoma took place on November 2,1954. Incumbent Democratic Senator Robert S. Kerr ran for re-election to a second term. He faced strong competition in the Democratic primary from former Governor Roy J. Turner,and though he won a sizable victory over Turner in the primary,he fell shy of an outright majority. Turner,however,withdrew from the race before a runoff election could be held. On the Republican side,U.S. Attorney Fred Mock won the nomination following a runoff against newspaper publisher Raymond Fields. In the general election,Kerr ended up easily defeating Mock,but with a significantly reduced victory from 1948.
