A lawyer for incumbent State Senator Cody Rogers of Tulsa says Rogers may appeal his primary loss to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Aaron Reinhardt won the Republican primary for Senate District 37 by 85 votes, but Rogers has not conceded.
Rogers challenged his loss in the Tulsa County District Court last week, accusing Reinhardt of illegally attaching absentee ballot requests to campaign mailers, a move called ballot harvesting.
Senator Rogers’ attorney, Chase McBride, explains that ballot harvesting may cause voters to unfairly associate a candidate with the Election Board, which is supposed to be a neutral third party.
“If somebody sends out material to try to get a ballot harvested, the person receiving that material may believe that the candidate is somehow documented with the election board.”
Tulsa County District Judge David Guten quickly dismissed Rogers’ petition.
McBride says Rogers and his campaign are now considering an appeal, emphasizing that ballot harvesting was outlawed in 2022 under Oklahoma law.
Aaron Reinhardt did not respond to a request for an interview.
