Wolfley wins a third term

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

The candidates were the same for State House District 95.

And so was the result.

Republican Rep. Max Wolfley won reelection to the State House by defeating Democratic challenger Tegan Malone on Nov. 5. Wolfley received 7,240 votes (54.01%) to Malone’s 6,164 (45.99%).

“We were pleased that the district supported what we’ve accomplished, like record public school funding and the biggest tax cut in state history (the state grocery sales tax),” Wolfley said about the election victory.

Wolfley said he shared in the victory with family, friends and supporters.

“My family and a huge number of volunteers put a tremendous effort into this campaign over a long period of time because they believed in what we were doing,” he said. “The victory was very rewarding for all of us when you consider that the other side put in a great deal of effort as well.”

The same two candidates faced off in 2022. Wolfley won that race with 53.95% and a margin of 778 votes.

Wolfley is a retired educator who was first elected to state office in 2020. Malone is also a former educator and runs a small business with her husband.

Malone was disappointed in the results and believes an influx of independent expenditures or dark money into the race was a major factor.

“We worked our tails off, we knocked over 15,000 doors and raised about $110,000 from local people and individual donors and not PACs,” she said.

According to the most recent filings with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, Malone raised about $104,606.33, while Wolfley reported $71,769.36 in donations.

In the final month of the campaign, Americans for Prosperity and Oklahoma Victory Committee, supported Wolfley’s campaign.

Americans for Prosperity endorsed Wolfley and spent more than $22,000 in support of him, while Oklahoma Victory Committee spent $15,428 in opposition of Malone. Both groups spent money on mailers, door hangers, canvasing and direct mail.

“It’s great to have support from folks who think you’re doing a good job,” Wolfley said about the support. “The only drawback is that you’re not allowed to coordinate or communicate with some of these groups. You’re not even allowed to tell them that people are probably getting too much mail.”

Malone said she’s fearful of what a Republican super majority in the state house will do.

“Whenever we have complete control of our government by a single party, the corruption starts to become rampant and

I have a feeling over the next two years, we’re going to see it ramp up even more,” she said.
She also challenged Wolfley to be an advocate for public education.

“As an educator of 40 years I really would have hoped that my opponent would have stood up a little taller and a little stronger and advocated for our kids instead of learning to play the politics game,” she said.

Wolfley was first elected in 2020 when he defeated incumbent Kelly Albright by 309 votes. His margin of victory increased to 778 (2022) and 1,072 (2024).

“We’re definitely moving in the right direction,” he said. “We feel like the margin could have been even greater if tornado damage had not reduced turnout in one of our strongest precincts.”

State House District 95 includes much of Midwest City, Tinker Air Force Base and parts of northern Cleveland County.