Markwayne Mullin

Mark Wayne "Markwayne" Mullin (born July 26, 1977) is an American businessman, former professional mixed martial arts fighter, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Mullin served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2023. Mullin is the first Native American U.S. senator since Ben Nighthorse Campbell retired from Congress in 2005. He is also the second Cherokee Nation citizen elected to the Senate; the first, Robert Latham Owen, retired in 1925.

Early life and career

Mullin was born on July 26, 1977, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He graduated from Stilwell High School in Stilwell, Oklahoma. He attended Missouri Valley College in 1996, but did not graduate. In 2010, Mullin received an associate degree in construction technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.

Mullin took over his father's business, Mullin Plumbing, at age 20, when his father fell ill. He also owns Mullin Properties, Mullin Farms, and Mullin Services. He hosted ''House Talk'', a home improvement radio program syndicated across Oklahoma, on Tulsa station KFAQ.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2012

In June 2011, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Dan Boren announced that he would retire at the end of 2012. In September 2011, Mullin declared his candidacy for the 2012 elections to the United States House of Representatives to represent Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district. Mullin branded himself as an outsider; his campaign slogan was "A rancher. A businessman. Not a politician!"
In the six-candidate Republican primary, Mullin finished first with 42% of the vote; state representative George Faught ranked second with 23% of the vote. In the primary runoff election, Mullin defeated Faught, 57%–43%.

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district had historically been a "Yellow Dog" Democratic district, but had steadily trended Republican as Tulsa's suburbs spilled into its northern portion. For this reason, Mullin was thought to have a good chance of winning the election. He defeated the Democratic nominee, former district attorney Rob Wallace, 57%–38%. Mullin was the first Republican to represent the district since Tom Coburn in 2001.

2014

In 2014, Mullin was reelected with 70% of the vote, defeating Democrat Earl Everrett who got 24.6% of the vote.

2016

In the June 2016 Republican primary, Mullin defeated Jarrin Jackson by 27 percentage points. In the November general election, he defeated Democrat Joshua Harris-Till by 47 percentage points.

2018

When he first ran for Congress in 2012, Mullin promised to serve only three terms (six years), but in July 2017 he released a video announcing that he would run for a fourth term in 2018, saying he was ill-advised when he made the promise to only serve three terms. After he reneged on this promise, former U.S. senator Tom Coburn said he would work to oust Mullin from office. Mullin won a four-way Republican primary with 54% of the vote, and was reelected in November with 65% of the vote.

2020

In 2020, Mullin won the Republican primary with 79.9% of the vote, and was reelected in November with 75% of the vote.

Tenure

On February 5, 2014, Mullin introduced the bill To revoke the charter of incorporation of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma at the request of that tribe (H.R. 4002; 113th Congress), which would accept the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma's request to revoke the charter of incorporation issued to it and ratified by its members on June 1, 1940.

In 2015, Mullin condemned the Supreme Court ruling in '' Obergefell v. Hodges'', which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution.

In April 2017, Mullin drew criticism when he was recorded during a town hall meeting telling his constituents that it was "bullcrap" that taxpayers pay his salary. He said, "I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go." As of 2022, Mullin still collects the U.S. Congress base salary of $174,000.

In 2021, Mullin was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. This bill expanded legal protections for transgender people, and contained provisions allowing transgender women to use women's shelters and serve time in prisons matching their gender identity.

Along with all other Senate and House Republicans, Mullin voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. In August 2022, he came out against President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, but subsequently received criticism after the White House Twitter account pointed out that Mullin had benefitted from $1.4 million of federal PPP loan forgiveness. Mullin also voted against the TRUTH Act (H.R. 6782), a bill that would have required public disclosure of companies that received funds through the bailout program.

January 6 Capitol attack

During the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Mullin and Representatives Troy Nehls (a former Sheriff and Army veteran) and Pat Fallon (an Air Force veteran) helped U.S. Capitol Police build barricades and protect the doors to the House chamber from the rioters. He and many of his colleagues were later ushered to a secure location, where he declined offers to wear a mask, in violation of House rules. Mullin said that he witnessed the shooting of Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt during the attack, which occurred after she climbed through a barricade leading towards the House Chamber; Mullin's viewpoint was that the Capitol police officer "didn't have a choice" but to shoot, and that this action "saved people's lives", with members of Congress and their staff "in danger" from the "mob".

August 2021 Afghanistan visit

On August 30, 2021, during the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mullin asked officials of the U.S. embassy in Tajikistan for assistance in going to Afghanistan to retrieve five American citizens. Because the plan involved violations of Tajikistan currency restrictions, the embassy staffers refused. The U.S. State Department had warned Mullin not to try his own rescue of Americans in Afghanistan, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy had both urged members of Congress to avoid travel to Afghanistan during the final days of the U.S. military presence.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Energy and Commerce
** Subcommittee on Health
** Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change
** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
* Committee on Intelligence
** Intelligence Modernization and Readiness (INMAR) Subcommittee (ranking member)
** Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support (DIWS) Subcommittee

Caucus memberships

* Republican Study Committee
* Congressional Western Caucus

U.S. Senate

Elections

2022 Special

In February 2022, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe announced he would resign from his seat at the end of the 117th United States Congress on January 3, 2023, necessitating a special election to fill the remainder of his term. Mullin announced that he would run in the special election.

In a field of 13 candidates that included Scott Pruitt and Nathan Dahm, Mullin received the most votes, with 44%, but short of the 50% required to avoid a runoff. He faced former state House Speaker T. W. Shannon, who received 18%, in the runoff election on August 23. Mullin defeated Shannon in the runoff, and faced the Democratic nominee, former Oklahoma's 5th congressional district Congresswoman Kendra Horn, in the November 8 general election; Mullin defeated Horn with 61.8% of the vote.

Political positions

2020 presidential election results

In December 2020, Mullin was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

When campaigning for the 2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma, Mullin supported the claim the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.

Abortion

Mullin supports making abortion illegal in all circumstances, even in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is at risk. During the 2022 Republican runoff debate, he claimed that if his wife's life were at risk during a pregnancy, neither he nor his wife would want to get an abortion.

LGBT issues

On December 10, 2020, Mullin and Representative Tulsi Gabbard introduced the Protect Women's Sports Act, a bill to define Title IX protections on the basis of an individual's biological sex, making it a violation for institutions that receive federal funding to "permit a person whose biological sex at birth is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls". This bill would effectively ban many transgender athletes from participating in programs corresponding with their gender identity.

Mixed martial arts record

, -
, Win
, align=center, 3–0
, Clinton Bonds
, TKO (punches)
, XFL
,
, align=center, 2
, align=center, 1:27
, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 2–0
, Clinton Bonds
, Submission (armbar)
, XFL Superbrawl
,
, align=center, 2
, align=center, N/A
, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 1–0
, Bobby Kelley
, Submission (rear-naked choke)
, XFL
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 0:46
, Miami, Oklahoma, United States
,

Personal life

Mullin and his wife, Christie, live in Westville, a few miles from the Arkansas border, and have six children. He is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Mullin is one of five Native Americans who served in the 117th Congress. The others were Tom Cole (Chickasaw Nation), Yvette Herrell ( Cherokee Nation), Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk Nation), and Alaska Native Mary Peltola (Yup'ik). He is the first Native American senator elected to Congress in nearly two decades.

Electoral history

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

References

External links

Congressman Markwayne Mullin
official U.S. House website

Markwayne Mullin for Congress
*
*

Professional mixed martial arts record
on Sherdog.com
*

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1977 births
20th-century Native Americans
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Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
Cherokee Nation businesspeople
Cherokee Nation members of the United States House of Representatives
Cherokee Nation members of the United States Senate
Cherokee Nation sportspeople
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Living people
Mixed martial artists from Oklahoma
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People from Adair County, Oklahoma
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