2019 Muscogee (Creek) general elections explained

Election Name:2019 Muscogee (Creek) Nation General Elections
Flag Image:File:Flag of the Muscogee Nation.png
Type:General Election
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2015 Muscogee (Creek) Nation General Elections
Previous Year:2017
Election Date:September 21, 2019 (Primary, nullified)
November 2, 2019 (Primary)
Next Election:2023 Muscogee (Creek) Nation General Elections
Next Year:2023
Seats For Election:Principal Chief
Candidate1:David Hill
Popular Vote1:3,399
Percentage1:65.6%
Candidate2:Steve Bruner
Popular Vote2:1,779
Percentage2:34.4%
Principal Chief
Before Election:James R. Floyd
After Election:David Hill

The 2019 Muscogee (Creek) general elections took place on November 2, 2019, to elect the Principal Chief, Second Chief, and half of the 16 National Council seats of the Muscogee Nation. The primary election was held on September 21 and in races where no one candidate won a majority of the votes, the top candidates moved on to the November general election.[1] Muscogee (Creek) National general elections are held on the Saturday immediately following the first Friday of November every four years. Enrolled citizens, 18 years of age and above are eligible to register to vote in the elections. Incumbent Principal Chief James R. Floyd announced in June 2019 that he would not seek re-election and Second Chief Louis Hicks was unable to seek re-election due to term limits.[2]

Because of irregularities, the primary election results were nullified and November 2 became the new primary election date with general election runoffs, when necessary, being held on December 14, 2019. National Council Second Speaker David Hill was the top vote-getter in the November primary and was elected principal chief in the December general election runoff; National Council Representative Del Beaver was elected second chief outright in the November primary. Hill and Beaver had both received the most votes in the nullified September primary.[3]

Candidate Eligibility

Eligible Voters[4] !District!Number of Voters
Creek2,091
McIntosh2,135
Muskogee1,179
Okfuskee1,729
Okmulgee3,940
Tukvptce1,540
Tulsa3,468
Wagoner847
Total16,929
Employees of Muscogee (Creek) nation that file for candidacy must file for a leave of absence from their employment from the day they file for candidacy until the day after the elections.

Candidates

Candidate Filing Period
July 15 - July 17
Early Primary VotingSeptember 18&19
Primary ElectionSeptember 21
Early General VotingOctober 30&31
General ElectionNovember 2

Principal Chief

Candidate NameSloganNotes
Steve BrunerBetter with BrunerFormer Speaker of National Council
David HillProsperity and Progress for All MvskokvlkeCurrent National Council representative for the Creek District
George TigerFormer principal chief
Monte Randall
  1. DR4Chief
Former Dean of Academic Affairs at Tribal College
Lucian Tiger IIINational Council Speaker
Joseph Rogers Jr.Tulsa construction business owner
Brenda GoldenOkmulgee attorney
Jackie JacksonPlanning Director for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe
Timothy Good VoiceThlopthlocco Tribal Town Administrator
Samuel AlexanderTulsa District Representative

Second Chief

Candidate NameNotes
Del BeaverOkmulgee District Representative
Adam Jones IIIMcIntosh District Representative

National Council

Source: [5]

Nullified Primary Elections

On September 21, the primary elections took place with nearly 5,000 voters. On September 28, the election board announced the official results.[6] On October 2, the MCN Supreme Court nullified the results of the MCN Primary Election following receipt of petitions alleging fraud, irregularities, and recount of absentee ballots.[7] The MCN election board announced November 2 as the new primary election date.[8]

National Council

DistrictCandidateVotes%
Creek (Seat A) Dean Hughes 1,819 38.66
Joseph Hicks 1,492 31.71
Dode Warrington-Barnett 1,394 29.63
McIntosh (Seat A) Darrell Proctor 3,180 68.64
Charles Colbert 1,453 31.36
Muskogee (Seat A) Lora Harjo-King 1,891 41.45
Mary Crawford 1,708 37.44
Jessina Brown 963 21.11
Okfuskee (Seat A) Randall Hicks 3,031 65.65
Bert Robison 1,586 34.35
Okmulgee (Seat A) Carmin Tecumseh-Williams 1,384 28.99
William Lowe 1,059 22.18
Grover Wind 1,056 22.12
Brian Jones 677 14.18
Patrick Moore 598 12.53
Tukvpvtce (Seat A) Anna Marshall 1,637 35.00
Rufus Scott 1,596 34.12
Edwin Marshall 1,444 30.87
Tulsa (Seat A) Robert Hufft 2,974 63.04
Cynthia Tiger 1,053 22.32
Jerry Wilson 691 14.65
Wagoner (Seat A) Charles McHenry 2,042 43.74
Dierdra Soap 1,410 30.20
Terri Jorgensen 839 17.97
Pamela Snyder-Osmun 378 8.10

Results

The November 2 primary election resulted in no changes in the winner of each race. In the Tulsa District Seat A race, Cynthia Tiger and Jerry Wilson withdrew after the Sept. 21 primary, leaving the incumbent, Robert Hufft as the winner of that race. In the Okfuskee and McIntosh races, the winning candidate received a super majority and avoided the need to participate in the general elections. Del Beaver defeated Adam Jones III 3,480 votes to 1,535 which meant that the second chief election would not be held during the general election.[9]

On December 14, the general election was held and three days later on December 17, 2019 the unofficial final election results were released showing David Hill as the front runner for the Principal Chief race. The results became official on December 20 and on January 1, 2020 winning candidates were sworn in to their position at the MCN Council House in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. On January 4, 2020 an inauguration ceremony was held at the River Spirit Casino Resort to commemorate the election of new Executive Branch leaders.[10] [11]

National Council

DistrictCandidatePrimaryGeneral
Votes%Votes%
Creek (Seat A) Joseph Hicks 1,760 36.25 2,520 51.54
Dean Hughes 1,687 34.75 2,369 48.46
Dode Warrington-Barnett 1,408 29.00
McIntosh (Seat A) Darrell Proctor 3,347 69.76
Charles Colbert 1,451 30.24
Muskogee (Seat A) Lora Harjo-King 2,165 45.63 2,403 49.47
Mary Crawford 1,746 36.80 2,454 50.53
Jessina Brown 834 17.58
Okfuskee (Seat A) Randall Hicks 3,242 67.39
Bert Robison 1,569 32.61
Okmulgee (Seat A) Carmin Tecumseh-Williams 1,509 30.83 2,418 49.13
William Lowe 1,248 25.50 2,504 50.87
Grover Wind 1,149 23.47
Brian Jones 554 11.32
Patrick Moore 435 8.89
Tukvpvtce (Seat A) Anna Marshall 1,890 39.15 2,846 58.48
Rufus Scott 1,567 32.46 2,021 41.52
Edwin Marshall 1,370 28.38
Tulsa (Seat A) Robert Hufft Unopposed
Wagoner (Seat A) Charles McHenry 2,328 48.07 2,775 56.74
Dierdra Soap 1,712 35.35 2,116 43.26
Terri Jorgensen 803 16.58
align=left colspan=6Source:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ten Candidates Vying to Lead Muscogee (Creek) Nation. www.publicradiotulsa.org. en. 2019-07-25.
  2. News: Creek Nation election board OKs candidates. Krehbiel-Burton. Lenzy. 2019-07-24. Tulsa World. 2019-07-25.
  3. News: David Hill wins Muscogee (Creek) Nation principal chief runoff, according to unofficial results. Krehbiel-Burton. Lenzy. December 15, 2019. Tulsa World. Tulsa, Oklahoma. January 19, 2021.
  4. Web site: Election Board – Muscogee (Creek) Nation. en-US. 2019-07-25.
  5. Web site: 2019 Official Candidate List – Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Mvskokeuser. en-US. 2019-07-25.
  6. Web site: Mvskokeuser . Muscogee (Creek) Nation Primary Election Results – Muscogee (Creek) Nation . https://web.archive.org/web/20221002100228/https://www.muscogeenation.com/2019/09/28/muscogee-creek-nation-primary-election-results/ . 2 October 2022 . 2019-10-07 . en-US.
  7. Web site: MCN Supreme Court calls for new election – Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Gray. Liz. en-US. 2019-10-07.
  8. Web site: MCN Election Board sets date for new Primary Election – Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Mvskokeuser. en-US. 2019-10-07.
  9. Web site: World. Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton For the Tulsa. Muscogee (Creek) Nation primary elections yield same results for chief candidates after 2nd vote. 2020-07-29. Tulsa World. en.
  10. Web site: Mvskokeuser. Unofficial Results Announced in Muscogee (Creek) Nation General Election – Muscogee (Creek) Nation. 2020-07-29. en-US.
  11. Web site: World. Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton For the Tulsa. David Hill wins Muscogee (Creek) Nation principal chief runoff, according to unofficial results. 2020-07-29. Tulsa World. en.