Anthony Wade Sykes (born November 19, 1972) is a Republican politician from
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
who served as a member of the
Oklahoma Senate
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Newcastle High School in Oklahoma in 1991. He went on to attend the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
, and then the
University of Oklahoma College of Law
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.
Accordi ...
Oklahoma National Guard
The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Military Department, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army (OKARNG) and Air (OKANG) National Guard components. The Governo ...
before his entry into politics.
Political career
Sykes first won election to the Oklahoma State Senate in November 2006 from Oklahoma's 24th Senate District. He won reelection in 2010. In the Senate he served as the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and was a member of the Rules, Public Safety, Appropriations, and Agricultural and Rural Development Committees. He was also a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation. While in the Senate, Sykes voted to repeal the state's
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
, restrict abortions, and require identification to vote in elections.
He also co-authored an amendment to the state's constitution that prohibited the hypothetical consideration of what has been described as
Sharia law
Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...
in judicial decisions.
In 2022, Sykes ran for the office of Associate District Judge of Stephens County, Oklahoma. He lost to opponent Lawrence Wheeler by a margin of 60% to 40%.https://www.duncanbanner.com/news/wheeler-russell-take-judicial-seats-in-stephens-county/article_9f83a17a-5fe5-11ed-81ff-b36c63f20cca.html