Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Margaret Cook
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Margaret Cook (independent) ran for election to the Oklahoma State Senate to represent District 3. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Cook completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2024
See also: Oklahoma State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Oklahoma State Senate District 3
Julie McIntosh defeated Margaret Cook in the general election for Oklahoma State Senate District 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Julie McIntosh (R)  | 78.7 | 28,812 |
 | Margaret Cook (Independent) | 21.3 | 7,785 | |
| Total votes: 36,597 | |||
| = 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 Oklahoma State Senate District 3
Julie McIntosh defeated incumbent Blake Cowboy Stephens in the Republican primary runoff for Oklahoma State Senate District 3 on August 27, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Julie McIntosh | 60.8 | 5,551 |
 | Blake Cowboy Stephens | 39.2 | 3,585 | |
| Total votes: 9,136 | |||
| = 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 Oklahoma State Senate District 3
Incumbent Blake Cowboy Stephens and Julie McIntosh advanced to a runoff. They defeated Patrick Sampson in the Republican primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 3 on June 18, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Blake Cowboy Stephens | 38.1 | 3,253 |
| ✔ | | Julie McIntosh | 37.4 | 3,198 |
| Patrick Sampson | 24.5 | 2,092 | ||
| Total votes: 8,543 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cook in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Margaret Cook completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cook's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
Margaret Cook is an attorney with a background in working with social service issues. Most of Margaret's career has been spent working with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse through a local service agency.
In 2017, Margaret left the service agency to open her own law practice where she primarily handles Family Law, Disability, and Estate Planning.
Margaret currently serves on 3 boards working with issues of homelessness and domestic violence, and is directly involved with providing services to trafficked minors. Throughout her career, she has been active in community committees and activities. She has been active in leadership opportunities both in her community and with state coalitions.
Margaret is private, but passionate about her faith and family. She has been married to her loving and supportive husband for 32 years during which time they raised four beautiful children. Margaret has been active in her church throughout her lifetime and has held leadership positions in most of the congregations she's served.
Margaret's strongest desire is to make sure all people feel valued and to treat everyone with respect, whatever walk of life they have come from.- I believe the government should work for the people, not a party agenda or big business. It is each legislator's responsibility to find common ground with other legislators (even those with different viewpoints) and build effective policies to impact the issues Oklahomans are facing. Individuals who represent the people should be held to a high standard of integrity and should seek to be transparent in all that they do as a representative while also holding others accountable to do the same.
- Our children must be our priority. Whether it is their education, safety, protection. Laws must be in place to protect our children and give them the tools they need to be successful and productive in our society. All children, not just the financially fortunate. The future of our state depends on the abilities we empower our children to develop. Our education system cannot just teach to the test, our teachers must be able to teach our children critical thinking and transferable skills in order for our children to flourish. In order to do this, our teachers must have necessary support so they can focus on teaching.
- Our criminal justice system is overburdened. A tremendous amount of tax dollars are being spent every year to house non-violent criminals that could be a productive member of society if given the tools. Systems need to be developed from the Courthouse up to provide alternatives to incarceration and the burden of expense it places on Oklahomans. A criminal justice system with the proper tools would gradually alleviate the need for the high taxes Oklahomans experience.
I am deeply commited to policies that prioritize the safety of our communities and education of our children. I additionally would like to develop feasible tax reductions that can be made without impacting services and promote governmental transparency and accountability. I see these issues as being vital for a thriving society. In addressing these policies, we will foster a stronger, more equitable community for everyone.
Mother Theresa, Ghandi, and Martin Luther King are all heroes of mine. I am amazed at how each of them chose to spend their life peacefully challenging the status quo through personal service while caring for marginalized communities. The amount of courage and sacrifice each of them exhibited is humbling. I don't know that I am unselfish enough to follow their examples, but I hope I at least have the courage to challenge the status quo when I see an injustice.
Time Magazine article - "How Americans Can Tackle Political Division Together" and" The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization" by Peter T. Coleman
The characteristics most important for an elected official are integrity and honesty. All other skills can be learned. Integrity and honesty are part of an individual's inner most character. Additionally, an elected official is responsible to represent all of the constituants, and must prioritize that responsibility over following a party agenda.
I have always been a mediator, both in my private life and in my professional life. I have additionally always been a voice for others in my professional life as an advocate and later an attorney. I believe these two skills are at the center of being a good legislator. Helping opposing views reach a compromise while being a voice for citizens helps to create laws that benefit all citizens.
The core responsibilities of someone elected to state office are to represent the people in the district. All the people, not just a select few. It is the representative's responsibility to be proactive and communicate honestly with the citizens and properly review proposed legislation to prevent any unintended consequences.
A legislator has a responsibility to properly represent the concerns of the constituents and consider impacts of legislation on the current and future constituents. A legislator should not just be concerned with making new laws, but also with making sure existing laws are working effectively.
A legislator has a responsibility to properly represent the concerns of the constituents and consider impacts of legislation on the current and future constituents. A legislator should not just be concerned with making new laws, but also with making sure existing laws are working effectively.
The bicentennial and Elvis Presley's death are the earliest historical events I can remember. I was around 9-10 years old. I'm sure I did not fully comprehend the significance of the bicentennial, but I thought the new quarters were great! Elvis's death was a little easier for me to understand. My dad was a huge Elvis fan, so I was raised on Elvis tunes and movies. Elvis also died right around my 10th birthday, so the loss of the music icon was more impactful to my young mind. Elvis songs still hold a special place in my life.
I remember looking for jobs before I could drive, but no one would hire me until I turned 16. As soon as I turned 16, I took a job at Long John Silver's, and worked there all through highschool. I quit just in time to pack up and move to college. I have always worked, even during college. It was not unusual for me to hold a couple of part-time jobs to fit around my school schedule, typically an on campus job along with an off-campus job.
Books written by Dr. Seuss have always been my favorite; both as a child and as an adult. While most Dr. Seuss books are children's books, there are almost always undercurrents of adult concepts. I enjoy the rhymes and the thought provoking perspectives Dr. Seuss creates in his stories.
The relationship between the governor and state legislature should be one of checks and balances. It is important that the two offices are able to work together, but there is also a responsibility for each office to hold the other accountable.
The greatest challenge Oklahoma is facing is how to pull out of the bottom 10 in several categories. According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute and Annie E. Casey Foundation, Oklahoma ranks 39th in economic well-being, 49th in education, 45th in health, 40th in family and community, and has the 8th highest level of poverty. These challenges are all so intertwined that improving Oklahoma in any one of these areas requires improvement across the board.
I do not believe it is necessarily important for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics, but I do believe it is essential for legislators to understand how the different levels of government work and effect each other. I also believe it is extremely important for legislators to understand the language of the law and how laws should be structured to be effective.
It is not only beneficial to build relationships with other legislators, but critical. As each legislator has a connection with a different community, it is only through legislators working together that all Oklahoma communities can be served. Differences in perspectives are healthy and all perspectives should be considered. Evaluating issues from multiple perspectives gives legislators the tools needed to make the best decisions for Oklahoma. Oklahoma is not going to improve while there is division and fighting. We all have to figure out how to work together.
My model may not be well known, but I knew him personally and witnessed his character directly. Senator Jim Wilson from Tahlequah represented my community several years ago. Jim was always forthright about his decisions and why he made them. He valued every individual he met, and always made time for the members of his community. Throughout Senator Wilson's career he had the respect of his constituents and legislative colleagues whether they were Democrats or Republicans.
I have no interest in running for any other office. I believe state level offices have the best opportunity to impact communities directly and have zero interest in holding a solo office such as governor.
As an advocate for domestic violence and sexual assault clients, and later as an attorney, my entire career has been spent listening to personal stories; some of them horrific. I have heard too many personal stories to even begin to consider one as more impactful than another. I will say, that the stories involving children facing trauma and abuse are the hardest ones to hear.
The provision of emergency powers is important in case an actual emergency situation develops/arises, but the power should be reserved for actual emergencies, not just used to get legislation pushed through quickly. It is important for the Governor to have authority to act quickly in an emergency, but the legislature should be included in some part of the process to maintain checks and balances.
The rise of human trafficking is one of the greatest threats to Oklahoma children. Currently, Oklahoma does not have any policies in place for agencies seeking to provide counter-trafficking services to minor children. I would like to start getting legislation approved that would help keep our children safe and initiate services for those children who have already been traumatized.
Oklahoma Rural Schools Association, Ed Brocksmith with Save the Illinois River Association,
Education, Health and Human Services, Judiciary, Public Safety and Tourism and Wildlife
Financial transparency and government accountability are critical to creating trust with the citizens of Oklahoma. Legislating is a responsibility to the people to develop and support a healthy government that improves the lives of the citizens. Financial Transparency does not just mean being honest and ethical with spending, it means making one's transactions so clear that not only is it possible to follow the money, but the decisions of how the money is spent are easy to follow and readily available for review.
Government accountability is not possible without transparency. The people must be able to easily discover when and why decisions are made and how and why their tax dollars are being spent. Constituents should know exactly what is going on at the legislature without having to become a private investigator.
Government accountability is not possible without transparency. The people must be able to easily discover when and why decisions are made and how and why their tax dollars are being spent. Constituents should know exactly what is going on at the legislature without having to become a private investigator.
I do not see any need to change our current state ballot initiative process.
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.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
Current members of the Oklahoma State Senate
Leadership
Majority Leader:Julie Daniels
Senators
District 1
District 2
Ally Seifried (R)
District 3
Julie McIntosh (R)
District 4
Tom Woods (R)
District 5
George Burns (R)
District 6
David Bullard (R)
District 7
Warren Hamilton (R)
District 8
Bryan Logan (R)
District 9
Avery Frix (R)
District 10
Bill Coleman (R)
District 11
Regina Goodwin (D)
District 12
Todd Gollihare (R)
District 13
Jonathan Wingard (R)
District 14
Jerry Alvord (R)
District 15
Lisa Standridge (R)
District 16
Mary Boren (D)
District 17
Shane Jett (R)
District 18
Jack Stewart (R)
District 19
Roland Pederson (R)
District 20
Chuck Hall (R)
District 21
Randy Grellner (R)
District 22
Kristen Thompson (R)
District 23
Lonnie Paxton (R)
District 24
Darrell Weaver (R)
District 25
Brian Guthrie (R)
District 26
Darcy Jech (R)
District 27
Casey Murdock (R)
District 28
Grant Green (R)
District 29
Julie Daniels (R)
District 30
Julia Kirt (D)
District 31
Spencer Kern (R)
District 32
Dusty Deevers (R)
District 33
District 34
Dana Prieto (R)
District 35
Jo Anna Dossett (D)
District 36
John Haste (R)
District 37
Aaron Reinhardt (R)
District 38
Brent Howard (R)
District 39
Dave Rader (R)
District 40
Carri Hicks (D)
District 41
Adam Pugh (R)
District 42
Brenda Stanley (R)
District 43
Kendal Sacchieri (R)
District 44
Michael Brooks (D)
District 45
Paul Rosino (R)
District 46
Mark Mann (D)
District 47
Kelly Hines (R)
District 48
Nikki Nice (D)
Republican Party (40)
Democratic Party (8)
