Chris Powell

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Chris Powell

Libertarian Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1989 - 1995

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps Reserve

Years of service

1989 - 1995

Personal

Birthplace

Midwest City, Okla.

Religion

Protestant

Profession

Evidence custodian

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Chris Powell (Libertarian Party) ran for election for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Powell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Chris Powell was born in Midwest City, Oklahoma. Powell served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1989 to 1995 with combat service in the first Gulf War. His career experience includes working as an evidence custodian and a 911 dispatcher. Powell has served as the chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party and on the board of Youth Cornerstone.

Elections

2022

See also: Oklahoma lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma

Incumbent Matt Pinnell defeated Melinda Alizadeh-Fard and Chris Powell in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Pinnell (R)	64.9	744,003
		Melinda Alizadeh-Fard (D)	31.0	355,763
		Chris Powell (L)	4.1	47,226

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,146,992
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Melinda Alizadeh-Fard advanced from the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Matt Pinnell advanced from the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Chris Powell advanced from the Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma.

2018

See also: Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Oklahoma

Kevin Stitt defeated Drew Edmondson and Chris Powell in the general election for Governor of Oklahoma on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Stitt (R)	54.3	644,579
		Drew Edmondson (D)	42.2	500,973
		Chris Powell (L)	3.4	40,833

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,186,385 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Governor of Oklahoma

Kevin Stitt defeated Mick Cornett in the Republican primary runoff for Governor of Oklahoma on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Stitt	54.6	164,892
		Mick Cornett	45.4	137,316

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 302,208
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary runoff election

Libertarian primary runoff for Governor of Oklahoma

Chris Powell defeated Rex Lawhorn in the Libertarian primary runoff for Governor of Oklahoma on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Rex Lawhorn
✔		Chris Powell

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Oklahoma

Drew Edmondson defeated Constance Johnson in the Democratic primary for Governor of Oklahoma on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Drew Edmondson	61.4	242,764
		Constance Johnson	38.6	152,730

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 395,494
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Oklahoma

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Oklahoma on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mick Cornett	29.3	132,806
✔		Kevin Stitt	24.4	110,479
		Todd Lamb	23.9	107,985
		Dan Fisher	7.9	35,818
		Gary Jones	5.6	25,243
	Submit photo	Gary Richardson	4.0	18,185
		Blake Cowboy Stephens	2.7	12,211
	Submit photo	Christopher Barnett	1.2	5,240
	Submit photo	Barry Gowdy	0.5	2,347
	Submit photo	Eric Foutch	0.5	2,292

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 452,606
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of Oklahoma

Chris Powell and Rex Lawhorn advanced to a runoff. They defeated Joe Exotic in the Libertarian primary for Governor of Oklahoma on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Powell	48.9	1,740
✔	Submit photo	Rex Lawhorn	32.4	1,154
		Joe Exotic	18.7	664

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 3,558
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Chris Powell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Powell's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

A lifelong Oklahoman, I believe that government should be carefully limited to proper functions and that anything which is not essential is a disservice to the people. Having served in combat in the Marine Corps and having been employed by federal, state, and municipal government as well as currently holding elected office as a member of the Bethany City Council, I know firsthand that much of what is spent and done in the name of and supposedly for the benefit of the public is wasteful or even actively harmful. In this campaign my platform is that we should eliminate the office for which I am a candidate, as it is unnecessary. If elected my ambition will be to become the last Lt. Governor of Oklahoma,.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• The office of Lt. Governor holds almost no responsibility or authority.
• The Secretary of State, a gubernatorial appointee with numerous specified duties, should replace the Lt. Governor in the line of succession if the Governor’s office becomes vacant.
• If elected, while advocating for elimination of the office of Lt. Governor I will refuse the Highway Patrol security detail and employee no more than one staff member.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Reducing wasteful and inappropriate spending in government.

Protecting the individual rights.
Ensuring equality before the law.
Promoting sensible criminal justice reforms that prioritizes expensive prison space for people who are genuinely dangerous.
Working to restrict and eliminate crony capitalist subsidies of politically advantaged businesses.

Enacting election reforms that empower voters.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The office of Lt. Governor is unique in how unimportant it is in state government. The current occupant holds a full-time job as a member of the Governor’s cabinet, which makes sense because there is nothing to do as Lt. Governor except go around the state seeking photo ops and making appearances in preparation for running for Governor when that office becomes an open seat. The last Lt. Governor who left office without becoming a gubernatorial candidate was Robert Kerr who served from 1987 to 1991.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Warren Harding is an unappreciated figure in American history. He stopped the post World War I recession by reducing taxes and spending, he successfully pushed for international naval disarmament, he freed political prisoners, and he spoke in favor of civil rights including doing so in person in the deep South. Unfortunately his personal flaws have been allowed to outweigh his leadership and accomplishments. Ron Paul is another individual I admire. He stood by his principles under all situations but also was committed to serving his constituents even if it meant assisting them to gain access to things he voted against.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Frederic Bastiat’s The Law is an excellent little book. Healing Our World by Mary Ruwart is a well-rounded presentation. Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics is eminently sound. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein presents many of these ideas in a fiction format.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, honesty, and an understanding that the power of government does have practical limits and ought to be limited by principle as well.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My view of anything that government does is that it must be something that the people have properly delegated to it and that it must work effectively to achieve the desired result with minimal unintended consequences, and that no matter how much of an emotional desire there is to try to use the force of government to make things be a certain way any law or regulation that is not duly authorized and/or does not do what it promises without creating new problems is wrong and harmful. I believe that changing government to be more line with this approach will be difficult and will take a long time, and rushing headlong into reform is a sure way to make mistakes which will make the cause of reforming and limiting government power even more difficult and time consuming. I have the ability to articulate both the need to reign in the political power of the state and the necessity to do so in careful steps with consideration for all the people of Oklahoma.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

It has become the case that being Lt. Governor entails a responsibility to find something outside the few minor functions of the office to do to serve the public in order to be useful. The current occupant also holds a full-time position in the gubernatorial cabinet, his predecessor also was active in an additional cabinet role. Previous Lt. Governors, such as James Berry who holds the record for being in the office the longest, continued to work as a banker the entire twenty years of his tenure. It can be difficult to earn your salary in a do-nothing job.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I hope to be remembered not just as having been in the right but also to have acted in the right way in pursuit of increasing individual liberty.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I turned nine during the 1980 presidential election between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

In high school I was employed at Little Caesar’s Pizza in Choctaw, Oklahoma, for a little over a year before graduating and leaving for Marine Corps boot camp.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

It has often been difficult to maintain hope that positive change can be accomplished in the face of opposition of the establishment party organizations and many of the politicians of those entities who either simply pursue self-advancement or actively seek to attain and use political power against their perceived enemies. However, I find that there are many others who most of the time are genuinely seeking to improve the lives of people, and that even the most shallow and callous do good occasionally if perhaps sometimes inadvertently. Learning how to be effective in advocating for positive change, and accepting that I, too, am fallible and make mistakes, has been a long road and one that continues on.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The most well-known and important role of Lt. Governor is to take the place of the Governor when the office becomes vacant or temporarily when the Governor is out of state. It made sense in 1907 to have someone take charge while the Governor was not in Oklahoma but technology has long ago made that requirement obsolete. Nor does it make sense to dedicate a statewide elective office to replacing a Governor who leaves the position since that has only happened three times, twice in the 1920s and once for a week in 1963. The Secretary of State, a gubernatorial appointee with numerous executive, legislative, judicial, and legal functions, is a more sensible choice to be in the line of succession to replace a vacancy in the Governor’s office.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

One duty of the Lt. Governor’s office is to preside over the State Senate. However, aside from one or two ceremonial appearances a year, holders of the office almost never actually perform this role.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Previous experience matters little, as the Lt. Governor has few responsibilities and little authority.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Since the primary goal of the past several Lt. Governors has been to position themselves to run for Governor, and incumbent Governors of the same party often become less and less popular over time while in office, the ability to retain the favor of the incumbent while at the same time avoiding becoming overly identified by the public with that incumbent would seem to serve their personal advancement very well.
In my case, my goal will be to get the office abolished and so my skill at persuasion would be put to the test as I would apply my political expertise to the task of encouraging the Legislature to put a state question on the ballot to eliminate the position and make me the last Lt. Governor of Oklahoma.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys

Chris Powell participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on May 30, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Chris Powell's responses follow below.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

“

Reducing political control of education in order to empower teachers and parents. Criminal justice reform. Prioritization of spending in the state budget to focus on core services and eliminate unnecessary appropriations.

”

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?

“

In all areas of government we need to pursue greater individual liberty and autonomy and reduce political power. The people of Oklahoma are capable, both having the right and being more qualified to run their own lives than any elected officials.

”

Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Chris Powell answered the following:

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow and why?

“

Milton Friedman was tremendously effective at communicating libertarian ideas. Even where one disagrees, and there are some areas where I do not agree with Friedman's approach, he was able to both convey what he was proposing and give an understanding of why he believed it was beneficial for all.

”

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else that best describes your political philosophy?

“

Leonard Read's I, Pencil is an excellent exposition of the interconnected nature of economics that makes it clear that libertarians not only grasp the reliance of all individuals upon each other within our economic system but in fact have a better understanding than those who believe that political control of economic decisions is necessary.

”

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

“

Elected officials must be honest, forthright, and simultaneously have a vision for where they want to lead and a healthy respect for what their constituents want. Balancing the desired outcomes against soun judgement about what can be accomplished will allow the office-holder to maximize efforts.

”

What qualities do you possess that would make you a successful officeholder?

“

I have extensive experience as a candidate and within the political process as well as a wide understanding of the daily lives of regular people that most establishment party candidates who come from the political class do not possess.

”

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

“

Our next governor needs to be able to work with people of differing views and backgrounds, something that a member of either establishment party will find difficult as they will be restricted by partisanship. Our next governor needs perspective beyond that of the political class, such as first-hand knowledge of the lives of regular working people. And our next governor needs to be committed to empowering individuals to live and work as they see fit, rather than relying on the power of the political process to confine people with political dictates/

”

What legacy would you like to leave?

“

I would like it to be said that I increased freedom for all Oklahomans.

”

Ballotpedia biographical submission form

The candidate completed Ballotpedia'sbiographical information submission form:

“	What is your political philosophy? Libertarian	”
—Chris Powell

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Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma

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