Brian John Bingman (born December 9, 1953) is an American politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 has served in elected and appointed offices since the 1990s. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected to the Sapulpa city commission in 1992, before being elected mayor by his fellow commissioners in 1994. He would serve in both of these offices until 2004, when he was elected to 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 ...

to represent the 30th district. After one term in the house, Bingman ran for the 12th district 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.President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate The president ''pro tempore'' of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-rank ...

, a position he would hold until retirement in 2016. In October 2020, Oklahoma Governor

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2018, defeating Democrat and former state Attorney Ge ...

appointed him as the Oklahoma Secretary of State and Oklahoma Secretary of Native American Affairs. His secretarial appointments were approved by 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.Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet in September 2023 to run for Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. He is a citizen of the

Muscogee Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

Early life, education, and Sapulpa politics

Brian Bingman was born on December 9, 1953, in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. He has a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in petroleum land management 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 ...

Sapulpa

Bingman ran for city commissioner Ward 5 in

Sapulpa, Oklahoma Sapulpa is a city in and the county seat of Creek County, Oklahoma, Creek County, extending partly into Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Tulsa County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 21,929 at the time of the 2020 United States census, ...

, in 1992 against incumbent Donnie Lowery; he won the election with 377 votes to Lowery's 217. In 1994, incumbent mayor and city commissioner J.D. Marketic was defeated in his re-election bid for the city commission. At the time, the mayor of Sapulpa was elected by the city commissioners from among their members. The city commission selected Bingman to be the new mayor of Sapulpa in April 1994. In 1996, he was re-elected to the city commission after facing Bill Bennett in the general election. In 1998, he presided over Sapulpa's

centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

celebrations. Bingman did not run for re-election in 2004, instead choosing to run for the 30th district of the

. He was succeeded as mayor by Doug Haught and in his city commissioner seat by Carlos Hernandez.

Oklahoma legislature

Bingman ran in 2004 to succeed term-limited state representative Mike Tyler. He faced Darren Gantz in the Republican primary and, later, John Mark Young, the Democratic Party's nominee in the general election. After winning 56% of the vote, he became the first Republican to represent the 30th district. During his term, he opposed the

Taxpayer Bill of Rights The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (abbreviated TABOR) is a concept advocated by conservative and free market libertarian groups, primarily in the United States, as a way of limiting the growth of government. It is not a charter of rights but a provisi ...

reform proposals. After his first term, he did not seek re-election to the Oklahoma House, and instead announced a campaign for the 12th district 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.Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

'' and U.S. Senator

Tom Coburn Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and medical doctor, physician who served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 2005 to 2015. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Coburn ...

. Young led in polling by 8%, but lost the general election. Bingman and Anthony Sykes's wins led to an even split between the Democratic and Republican parties in the Senate during the 51st Oklahoma Legislature. He was sworn into his senate seat on November 16, 2006. Mark McCullough would succeed him in the 30th house district. Bingman endorsed Dewey F. Bartlett Jr. in the 2009 Tulsa mayoral election. He ran unopposed for re-election in 2010. Bingman became President Pro Tempore of the Senate on January 4, 2011. In 2013, Governor

Mary Fallin Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 Oklahoma gub ...

signed SB 1062 into law, a

worker's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

reform bill sponsored by Bingman and

T.W. Shannon Tahrohon Wayne Shannon (born February 24, 1978) is an American banker and politician who served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 62nd district from 2007 to 2015. In 2013, he became Oklahoma's first African-American Li ...

. The same year, she also signed into law tax cuts, also authored by Bingman and Shannon, to cut the

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 ...

in Oklahoma from 5.25 to 5 percent. The tax cuts were later overturned by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma for violating the single subject rule. In 2014, he supported a bill, which passed 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.National Popular Vote Interstate Compact MD, NJ, IL, HI, WA, MA, DC, VT, CA, RI, NY, CT, CO, DE, NM, OR, MN, ME AZ, KS, PA, SC, VA, TX, MT The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award all t ...

; the bill failed in the

. In 2014, he faced John Knecht in the Republican primary. The ''Tulsa World'' endorsed his re-election campaign. In 2015, he authored successful legislation to fund the OKPOP museum. In 2016, he endorsed Ted Cruz's presidential campaign. He was succeeded by James Leewright in 2016 after being term-limited from the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

2018 Corporation Commissioner campaign and Stitt administration

In 2017, Bingman announced his campaign for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. He faced incumbent Bob Anthony and Harold Spralding in the Republican primary. Bingman garnered 38% of the vote to Anthony's 47%, forcing a runoff election. He lost the runoff after receiving 47.6% of the vote.

Oklahoma Secretarial appointments

In August 2020, Bingman was announced as Governor

's new chief policy adivsor. In October, he was announced as Stitt's nominee for Oklahoma Secretary of State and Oklahoma Secretary of Native American Affairs. On April 13, 2021, 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.2024 Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner election. He resigned the positions of secretary of state and Native American affairs on September 13, 2023. The Secretary of Native American Affairs position was not filled, but Wes Nofire was appointed Native American Affairs Liaison. He was succeeded as secretary of state by Josh Cockroft.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Bingman won the Republican primary for Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner in June 2024. He defeated Russell Ray and Justin Hornback in the primary election. He faced Libertarian Chad Williams and Democrat Harold Spradling in the general election. He won with over 60% of the vote. He was sworn in on January 13, 2025, by

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

Justice Dana Kuehn.

Personal life

Bingman is a citizen of the

. His son, Blake Bingman, died at the age of 13 after a

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

accident in 1995.

Election results

References

External links

Senator Bingman's Official Website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bingman, Brian 1953 births 20th-century mayors of places in Oklahoma 20th-century Native American politicians 21st-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature 21st-century Native American politicians Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Corporation Commissioners of Oklahoma Living people Muscogee (Creek) Nation state legislators in Oklahoma Native American mayors in Oklahoma Oklahoma city council members Politicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Republican Party Oklahoma state senators Secretaries of state of Oklahoma Stitt administration cabinet members University of Oklahoma alumni Presidents pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate