John Argo

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

John Argo

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 30, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Oklahoma City, Okla.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Metalwork

John Argo (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 30, 2020.

Argo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

John Argo was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He studied at the University of Oklahoma. Argo’s career experience includes working in the field of small business metalwork.

Elections

2020

See also: Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 30 Democratic primary)

Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 30 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4

Incumbent Tom Cole defeated Mary Brannon and Bob White in the general election for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Cole (R)	67.8	213,096
		Mary Brannon (D)	28.8	90,459
	Submit photo	Bob White (L)	3.4	10,803

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 314,358
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4

Mary Brannon defeated David Slemmons and John Argo in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4 on June 30, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mary Brannon	63.9	32,199
		David Slemmons	19.4	9,793
		John Argo	16.7	8,436

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,428
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Arash Ghazanfari (D)
• Wyndi Brown-Fietkau (D)
• Wesley Forbes (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4

Incumbent Tom Cole defeated James Taylor, Trevor Sipes, and Gilbert Sanders in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4 on June 30, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Cole	76.3	55,699
		James Taylor	15.2	11,081
		Trevor Sipes	6.0	4,357
		Gilbert Sanders	2.5	1,833

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 72,970
= 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

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Argo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Argo'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.

I am a third generation Oklahoman. I was born in Oklahoma City but have lived in Norman for over 60 years. After graduating from Norman High School I attended the University of Oklahoma for three years in pursuit of an Industrial Arts Degree. The University did away with this degree as it turned its focus to Engineering. I wanted to be a junior high shop teacher. As fate would have it I married a teacher. My wife Marion and I have been married for 46 years. We are proud to have 3 children and 6 grandchildren living in Oklahoma. I credit the academic successes of our children to my wife's devotion to her profession. We have been proud members of ST. Thomas More University Parish for 46 years. Although I was not able to get my degree, I was able to continue my metalwork career. For over 45 years I have run a small business that allowed me to provide services to other businesses and individuals all over the great state of Oklahoma and beyond. This has led to many long term friendships in many different industries and cities throughout Oklahoma. I have been a Democrat voter since 1984. I am pro Norman, I am pro Oklahoma , and I am pro America.

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?

• I will protect the freedoms and promote the values that would preserve the American Dream and pass it on.
• I believe affordable, reliable, patient focused healthcare coverage should be available to all citizens.
• I believe in accountability, transparency, and fairness in government for all Americans.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am proud of my 18 year effort to provide transparency and accountability of our healthcare laws.

I am proud of my 18 year effort to provide a reasonably safe environment in which Oklahoma High School Student Athletes would have an equal opportunity to participate.

I am proud of my 18 year effort to provide Oklahoma High School Teachers a template for helping injured student athletes achieve their academic goals despite their disabilities.

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

My father James H. Argo . He was born in Maud Oklahoma but lived in Norman for close to 80 years. He shined shoes at my Grandfathers barber shop and he washed dishes at my Grandmothers restaurant which was located where the Diner is now. He was a loyal employee of Oklahoma Gas & Electric for 37 years and a proud retiree for over 30 years. He dedicated his life to helping his family and others achieve the American Dream. After seeing the positive impact his selfless commitment had on my wife and me, our children, our grandchildren, and others, I questioned what would happen if our elected officials made decisions that would insure the American Dream was passed on to future generations.

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

I see opportunities rather than obstacles.

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

My goal as a member of Congress would be to protect the freedoms and promote the values that would preserve the American Dream for future generations.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I hope I can impress upon the youth of America not to take for granted what freedoms you have and how much good you can do with them.

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

I was in a prefab at McKinley Grade School when our sixth grade class received the terrible news that President Kennedy had been shot.

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

In the sixth grade I had a paper route for the Oklahoma City Times and Sunday Oklahoman. In junior high I hauled hay on a farm south of Norman. In high school I rolled 17 miles of pizza dough for a restaurant that sold 99 cent cheese pizzas throughout Norman and the University of Oklahoma. Also in the sixth grade my family started putting up the flags of other universities around the top of the stadium for home OU football games and taking them down after the game. I did this for about 30 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Made Out-a Mud by Luke and Ann Fern Robison of Midwest City, Oklahoma This book documents the early brick plants of Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory . It gives great insight into how Oklahoma towns were formed and where. Since they are no longer with us I do not think it is in print. He was part of those who restored the Arcadia Round Barn . They represented every good quality that Oklahoma stands for. I was blessed to have the opportunity to know them.

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

Finding someone who is capable of and willing to provide transparency and accountability for our healthcare laws without being forced to by a court of law.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Provides the opportunity to focus on the people of a district rather than the entire state.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe my experience of written commutation, telephone conversations, and in person interviews with lawmakers and other government authorized individuals all the way from the Norman City Council to the Supreme Court of the United States has already been beneficial to the residents of Oklahoma.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Ethics, self responsibility, and protecting and respecting the freedoms others gave their lives for.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Healthcare and Government Accountability

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

yes

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Support but not sure what length.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Yes but I might need permission to share it. It pretty well sums up why I am running for office.

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.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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External links

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Footnotes

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Oklahoma's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

James Lankford (R)

Markwayne Mullin (R)

Representatives

District 1

Kevin Hern (R)

District 2

Josh Brecheen (R)

District 3

Frank Lucas (R)

District 4

Tom Cole (R)

District 5

Stephanie Bice (R)

Republican Party (7)