Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) announced Saturday he will enter the race to succeed retiring Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe.
"I've been getting a lot of calls asking me if I'm going to run for United States Senate," Mullin said in a video shared to social media, shot while Mullin is driving on a highway.
"As you can tell, I'm driving down the road headed to Oklahoma City because my boys rassle in a high school rassling tournament tonight and tomorrow. But I'm also not one to beat around the bush, so I'm just going to tell you the way it is: I'm in," Mullin said.
On his campaign website, Mullin says: "I’ve been fighting in Congress for President Trump's America First agenda - in fact, I've been a top advocate for him in Washington, every step of the way. Now I'm running to keep this seat RED, fight for your conservative values in the Senate, and Save America from Biden's far-left insanity."
Mullin is currently serving his fifth term representing Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District, despite a campaign promise to serve no more than three terms in Congress. Before politics, Mullin was a professional mixed martial arts fighter and the owner of a plumbing company, Mullin Plumbing, which he still owns.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Mullin joined all four of his fellow Oklahoma House Republicans in voting to reject the legitimate results of the 2020 election that then-President Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. In September, the Washington Post reported Mullin threatened U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan John Mark Pommersheim and embassy staff while trying to reach Afghanistan against the wishes of the State Department and the Pentagon.
The Associated Press reports other possible candidates for Inhofe's seat include Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, 1st Congressional District Rep. Kevin Hern and former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon.
