Jon Echols (born December 3, 1979) is an American politician who served in the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

representing the 90th district from 2012 to 2024. He was the Majority Floor Leader.

Early life, education, and career

John Echols grew up in Oklahoma City. His mother was an attorney and special education teacher, while his father, David Echols, is an attorney and a member of the

Oklahoma City Community College Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) is a Public college, public community college in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The college was founded in 1972 as South Oklahoma City Junior college, Junior College. OCCC has a current enrollment of 18,549 stud ...

Board of Regenets. He graduated from 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 ...

with a bachelor's degree in political science and from

Oklahoma City University School of Law Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is the law school of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was founded in 1907. OCU Law was located in the Sarkeys Law Center on t ...

with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

. Echols co-foundered Turn Key Health Clinics in 2009 and is the company's president. Echols has said that "he works for the company’s CEO mostly outside of Oklahoma to minimize perceived conflicts of interest." He also worked for the law firm Crowe and Dunlevy.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

Echols ran for the 90th district of the

in 2012 to succeed

Charles Key Charles William Key, PC (8 August 1883 – 6 December 1964) was a British schoolmaster and Labour Party politician. Coming from a very working-class background, the generosity of a family friend made it possible for him to get a start in life ...

. He won the election and was reelected until he was term limited in 2024. From 2016 to 2024, he served as the majority floor leader of the house and he holds the record for longest serving majority leader.

Tenure

Echols received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award for Higher Education from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the Council of College and University Presidents. He would go on to receive the award in 2020 and 2021 as well. In 2016, Echols asked Sheriff Vic Regalado's office to change a bid requirement on a medical contract for the

Tulsa County Tulsa County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in the state, behind only Oklahoma C ...

jail so his company, Turn Key Health Clinic, could bid. Echols said he asked for the change so that in-county companies would have a fair opportunity to make bids. In 2023, Echols was the House author on Senate Bill 840 (co-authored by Sen.

Greg McCortney Greg McCortney (born May 30, 1974) is an American politician who served in the Oklahoma Senate representing the 13th district from 2016 to 2024. Born in Ada, Oklahoma, McCortney was a Christian minister and the owner of healthcare businesses befo ...

, R-Ada), a bill that "deals with name, image, likeness — the new endorsements phenomenon known as NIL." Echols marked it as "high-priority." In October 2023, Echols voiced support for Israel in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, calling Hamas a terrorist organization and saying that Israel is in its rights to "wipe"

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

out, but pointing out that Hamas is "not our Muslim brothers and sisters"and differentiating between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in Gaza. In 2024, Echols introduced House Bill 4156, a state immigration law creating the crime of "impermissible occupation." Attorney General

Gentner Drummond Gentner Frederick Drummond (born October 1, 1963) is an American attorney, rancher, Air Force veteran, and politician serving as the 20th attorney general of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he is a candidate for governor in the 202 ...

helped draft the bill.

2026 attorney general campaign

On February 26, 2025, Echols officially launched a campaign for

Attorney General of Oklahoma The attorney general of Oklahoma is the State Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. The attorney general serves as the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the Oklahoma, State of Oklahoma and head of the Office of the Oklahoma Attorn ...

References

1979 births Living people Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature {{Oklahoma-politician-stub