McCall Secures Caucus Support For Second Term As Speaker
House GOP keeps Speaker McCall
by Dale Denwalt
State Rep. Charles McCall will remain speaker of the Oklahoma House.
The House Republican caucus voted Wednesday to keep McCall, R-Atoka, as speaker for another two years. The vote happened behind closed doors, and McCall would not speak to reporters about the election.
Four of his fellow Republicans initially filed to challenge him, but state Reps. Charles Ortega, Todd Russ and Tommy Hardin withdrew before the vote. Only Enid state Rep. Chad Caldwell stood in opposition Wednesday.
Caldwell previously told The Oklahoman that he was asked by his colleagues to run.
“People are obviously frustrated with the lack of progress, both inside and outside this building. And I’m sure Speaker McCall is concerned,” Caldwell said last week. “Any time that you’re in a difficult time like this, I think it’s natural and good to take a step back and reevaluate things.”