Who's on the ballot for the Edmond special primary election? See candidates for state representative

William C. Wertz, The Oklahoman

Ten candidates have crowded into the race to replace former state Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, who resigned in September after pleading guilty to the felony offense of being in control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

The list for the special primary election scheduled for Tuesday includes seven Republicans and two Democrats. A Libertarian candidate is unopposed. A special general election for the seat will be held Feb. 12, and the winner will be seated shortly after the start of the 2024 legislative session.

Martinez first won the District 39 seat in 2016 with 68% of the vote. He ran unopposed in 2020 and 2022.

Republican primary candidates

  • Kristen Ferate, 45, appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt to the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Board. Her husband is A.J. Ferate, an OKC attorney and former chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party.

  • William A. Gaige Jr., 47, operations manager for an OKC building products firm.

  • Tim Hale, 64, a retired Air Force colonel and area ministry coordinator for the Officers' Christian Fellowship.

  • Erick Harris, 36, a member of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Board and a former assistant state attorney general.

  • Ronda Lee Peterson, 61, an Edmond Public Schools bus driver.

  • Cris Price, 53, an Edmond mortgage broker.

  • Dr. Ross Vanhooser, 63, a semi-retired radiologist appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt to the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision.

The special primary election is "winner take all," which means there will not be a runoff if none of the four candidates receives more than 50% of the vote.

More: Who is on presidential primary ballot in Oklahoma?

Democratic primary candidates

  • Regan Raff, 43, owner of a bookkeeping company and, with her husband, owner of a real estate business.

  • Paul Timmons, 62, investigations chief of the Oklahoma County Detention Center and retired Oklahoma Highway Patrol captain.

Libertarian candidate

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Edmond special election candidates for state representative on ballot

Advertisement