The Boren family is a prominent

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly Election, electoral politics. Members may be related by consanguinity, blood or marriage; often several gene ...

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 ...

. The family has been described as " Democratic party royalty in Oklahoma" and "a mainstay of Oklahoma and national politics." The family is one of the most notable in Oklahoma, producing Democratic politicians including Lyle Boren (1909–1992),

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for Oklahoma's 4th district from 1937 to 1947, his son

David Boren David Lyle Boren (April 21, 1941 – February 20, 2025) was an American lawyer and politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and thr ...

(1941-2025),

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

from 1975 to 1979,

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from 1979 to 1994, and President of 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 ...

1994 to 2018, his grandson

Dan Boren David Daniel Boren (born August 2, 1973) is a Native American businessman and politician who is the Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, based in Oklahoma. He is a retired American politician, who served as the U.S. representative fo ...

(born 1973), a Blue Dog who was the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd district from 2005 to 2013, and his nephew Jim Boren who was political operative, humorist, and author. Lyle Boren's sister was

Mae Boren Axton Mae Boren Axton (born Mae Boren; September 14, 1914 – April 9, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter. She was known in the music industry as the "Queen Mother of Nashville". She co-wrote the Elvis Presley hit single "Heartbreak Hotel" with Tom ...

, a notable composer who worked with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' country music charts, second onl ...

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. During her career Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood ...

Johnny Tillotson Johnny Tillotson (April 20, 1938 – April 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored nine top-ten hits on the pop, country, and adult contemporary ''Billboard'' charts, incl ...

, and

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music, country singer, songwriter and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin (Blake Shelton song), Austin" from his Blake Shelton (album), self ...

and the mother of folk singer and actor

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

. Janna Ryan, wife of the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Republican vice-presidential nominee and former

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...

, is niece by marriage of David Boren. In addition, Dan Boren's wife, Andrea, is the sister of the former quarterback of the University of Oklahoma,

Josh Heupel Joshua Kenneth Heupel ( ; born March 22, 1978) is an American college football coach and former player who is the head football coach at the University of Tennessee. Previously he was head coach at the University of Central Florida, where he com ...

, who won the national championship with the team in 2000.

Members by generation

First Generation * Lyle Boren, former member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Oklahoma's 4th congressional district Oklahoma's 4th congressional district is located in south-central Oklahoma and covers (in whole or in part) a total of 14 counties. Its principal cities include Midwest City, Oklahoma, Midwest City, Norman, Oklahoma, Norman, Moore, Oklahoma, Moo ...

(1909–1992) *

, music promoter and educator (1914–1997) Second Generation *

, son of Lyle Boren, 13th President of the

, former

for Oklahoma, and 21st

(1941–2025) ** Janna Lou Little Boren, 18th First Lady of Oklahoma (1944–1998) **

Molly Shi Boren Molly Shi Boren (born June 11, 1943) is an American judge who served as the 19th First Lady of Oklahoma from 1977 to 1979 during the tenure of her husband David Boren. She was the first person to marry a Governor of Oklahoma while he was in office ...

, 19th First Lady of Oklahoma (born 1943) *

, son of Mae Boren Axton singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (1938–1999) * James Boren, nephew of Lyle Boren, humorist, politician, and businessman (1925–2010) Third Generation *

, son of David Boren, former member of the

from

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas and includes (in who ...

, and former member of 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 ...

(born 1973) * Janna Ryan, cousin of Dan Boren * Mary B. Boren, married to Nathan Boren (first cousin once removed of David Boren) and current Oklahoma State Senator

References

Political families of the United States Families from Oklahoma Oklahoma Democratic Party {{US-poli-stub

Members by generation

See also

References