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Frank Lucas (Oklahoma politician)

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Frank Lucas
Chair of the House Science Committee
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byEddie Bernice Johnson
Ranking Member of the House Science Committee
In office
January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byEddie Bernice Johnson
Succeeded byZoe Lofgren
Chair of the House Agriculture Committee
In office
January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byCollin Peterson
Succeeded byMike Conaway
Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byBob Goodlatte
Succeeded byCollin Peterson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oklahoma
Assumed office
May 10, 1994
Preceded byGlenn English
Constituency6th district (1994–2003)
3rd district (2003–present)
Personal details
Born
Frank Dean Lucas

(1960-01-06) January 6, 1960 (age 64)
Cheyenne, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lynda Bradshaw
​
(m. 1988)​
Children3
EducationOklahoma State University–Stillwater (BS)
WebsiteHouse website
Frank Lucas's voice
Lucas, as chair of the House Science Committee, voices his support for H.R.290, the Commercial Remote Sensing Act
Recorded January 30, 2023

Frank Dean Lucas (born January 6, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district since 2003, having previously represented the 6th district from 1994 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Lucas has chaired the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology since 2023. His district, numbered as the 6th from 1994 to 2003, is Oklahoma's largest congressional district and one of the largest in the nation that does not cover an entire state. It covers 34,088.49 square miles and stretches from the Panhandle to the fringes of the Tulsa suburbs, covering almost half of the state's land mass. Lucas is the dean of Oklahoma's congressional delegation.

United States House of Representatives

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Tenure

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On April 7, 2014, Lucas introduced the Customer Protection and End User Relief Act (H.R. 4413; 113th Congress) into the House.[1] The bill would reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission through 2018 and amend some provisions of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.[2][3]

On January 6, 2021, in the aftermath of the attack on the United States Capitol, Lucas joined 146 other Congressional Republicans in voting against the certification of the 2020 presidential election.[4]

In 2022, Lucas was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[5][6]

Committee assignments

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Caucus memberships

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Political campaigns

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Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas speaks at a town hall meeting held in the Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City, Oklahoma on September 26, 2011.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

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Lucas first ran for the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1984 as a Republican against the incumbent Democrat, narrowly losing. A second attempt in 1986 also fell short, but he won in 1988. He lost in 1990 after the legislature made his district somewhat friendlier to Democrats, but he returned in 1992.

U. S. House of Representatives

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In 1994, 6th district Congressman Glenn English stepped down to become a lobbyist for rural electric cooperatives. Lucas won the Republican nomination for the special election on May 10. He faced Dan Webber, press secretary to U.S. Senator David L. Boren. The 6th was already by far the largest in the state, stretching from the Panhandle to the town of Spencer, in the far northeastern Oklahoma City metropolitan area. But the state legislature had redrawn it so that it included many poor Oklahoma City neighborhoods that had never voted Republican. Lucas scored a major upset, winning by eight percentage points and carrying 18 of the district's 24 counties. Some pundits have seen his victory as an early sign of the Republican Revolution that November, when Republicans took control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Lucas won a full term in November with 70% of the vote. He has been reelected seven times, never with less than 59% of the vote, and was unopposed in 2002 and 2004.

Lucas's district was renumbered as the 3rd after Oklahoma lost a district in the 2000 Census. His already vast district was made even larger. He lost most of his share of Oklahoma City, which was home to 60% of the district's population. He once represented much of the downtown area, including the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. He still represents the part of the city in Canadian County. To make up for this large population loss, the 3rd was pushed farther east, picking up several of Tulsa's western suburbs (including a small portion of Tulsa itself) and some rural areas. As a result, his district now includes 48.5% of the state's landmass, and is nearly as large as the state's other four districts combined.

2014 Republican primary

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Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma § District 3

In the 2014 Republican primary, Lucas won 83% of the vote. 12% went to Robert Hubbard and 5% to Timothy Ray Murray.[8]

Chair of the Science, Space and Technology committee

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After Republicans won the House majority in the 2022 elections, Lucas became chair of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, which has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development, including NASA, NSF, NIST, and the OSTP.[9]

Lucas laid out an ambitious agenda for the committee: independence for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a federal program to develop unmanned drones, advances in fusion energy, and research money for institutions other than those on the coasts.[10]

Frank Lucas (116th Congress)

2024 Republican primary

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Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma § District 3

Lucas only drew Republican primary challengers in 2024. He will face Robyn Lynn Carder and Darren Hamilton in the June primary.[11]

Electoral history

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Oklahoma's 6th congressional district: Results 1992–2000[12]
Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
1992 Glenn English * 134,734 68% Bob Anthony 64,068 32%
1994 Jeffrey S. Tollett 45,399 30% Frank D. Lucas 106,961 70%
1996 Paul M. Barby 64,173 36% Frank D. Lucas 113,499 64%
1998 Paul M. Barby 43,555 33% Frank D. Lucas 85,261 65% Ralph B. Finkle, Jr. Independent 2,455 2%
2000 Randy Beutler 63,106 39% Frank D. Lucas 95,635 59% Joseph V. Cristiano Libertarian 2,435 2%

* English resigned mid-term, and Lucas won the special election to succeed him against Democratic opponent Dan Webber.

Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district: Results 2002–2022[12]
Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
2002 (no candidate) Frank D. Lucas 148,206 76% Robert T. Murphy Independent 47,884 24%
2004 (no candidate) Frank D. Lucas 215,510 82% Gregory M. Wilson Independent 46,621 18%
2006 Sue Barton 61,749 33% Frank D. Lucas 128,042 67%
2008 Frankie Robbins 62,297 24% Frank D. Lucas 184,306 70% Forrest Michael Independent 17,756 7%
2010 Frankie Robbins 45,684 22% Frank D. Lucas 161,915 78%
2012 Timothy Ray Murray 53,472 20% Frank D. Lucas 201,744 75% William M. Sanders Independent 12,787 5%
2014 Frankie Robbins 36,270 21% Frank D. Lucas 133,335 79%
2016 Frankie Robbins 63,090 22% Frank D. Lucas 227,525 78%
2018 Frankie Robbins 61,152 26% Frank D. Lucas 172,913 74%
2020 Zoe Midyett 66,501 22% Frank D. Lucas 242,677 78%
2022 Jeremiah Ross 50,354 25% Frank D. Lucas 147,418 74%

Personal life

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Lucas is a fifth-generation Oklahoman; his family has farmed in western Oklahoma for over 100 years. He lives in Cheyenne with his wife, Lynda. They have three children and three grandchildren.[13][14] In August 2023, Lucas underwent hip surgery after being injured on his ranch.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "H.R. 4413 – All Actions". United States Congress. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  2. ^ Pagliocca, Theresa (April 14, 2014). "Customer Protection and End-User Relief Act (H.R. 4413) Receives House Committee Approval". DTCC. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  3. ^ "CBO – H.R. 4413". Congressional Budget Office. May 19, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  4. ^ Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry; Lu, Denise (January 7, 2021). "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  5. ^ "House passes antitrust bill that hikes M&A fees as larger efforts targeting tech have stalled". CNBC. September 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "H.R. 3843: Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022 -- House Vote #460 -- Sep 29, 2022".
  7. ^ "Members". Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "Oklahoma – Summary Vote Results June 25, 2014 – 05:28PM ET". Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017.
  9. ^ Lamar, Calley (February 17, 2023). "Congressman Lucas holds town hall at Standing Bear". Ponca City News. Archived from the original on June 11, 2024.
  10. ^ Ratnam, Gopal (January 31, 2023). "At 'fun' House Science, Lucas sees CHIPS aid as potential model for AI, quantum computing". Roll Call. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023.
  11. ^ Patterson, Matt (April 6, 2024). "Corporation Commission seat draws 5, congressional incumbents find opponents". NonDoc. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present". US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  13. ^ "Biography". Congressman Frank Lucas. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Krehbiel, Randy (July 2, 2023). "D.C. Digest: Oklahoma congressional delegation sings high court's praises". Tulsa World. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  15. ^ Nazzaro, Miranda (August 7, 2023). "Oklahoma lawmaker hospitalized after accident at ranch". The Hill. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oklahoma's 6th congressional district
1994–2003 		Constituency abolished
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district
2003–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee
2009–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Collin Peterson
 Chair of the House Agriculture Committee
2011–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Ranking Member of the House Science Committee
2019–2023 		Succeeded by
Chair of the House Science Committee
2023–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
18th 		Succeeded by
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