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Mark Sanders (Oklahoma)
Mark Sanders (independent) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Sanders completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Mark Sanders was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He earned a bachelor's degree from Occidental College in 1982 and a law degree from the Columbia University Law in 1986. His career experience includes working as an attorney and professor.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District election, 2024
Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Republican primary)
Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Oklahoma District 1
Incumbent Kevin Hern defeated Dennis Baker and Mark Sanders in the general election for U.S. House Oklahoma District 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kevin Hern (R) | 60.4 | 188,832 |
 | Dennis Baker (D)  | 34.5 | 107,903 | |
 | Mark Sanders (Independent) | 5.0 | 15,766 | |
| Total votes: 312,501 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 1
Dennis Baker defeated Evelyn Rogers in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 1 on June 18, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dennis Baker | 59.2 | 8,527 |
| Evelyn Rogers | 40.8 | 5,871 | ||
| Total votes: 14,398 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Sarah Gray (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 1
Incumbent Kevin Hern defeated Paul Royse in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 1 on June 18, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kevin Hern | 87.0 | 30,244 |
 | Paul Royse | 13.0 | 4,504 | |
| Total votes: 34,748 | |||
| = 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 Sanders in this election.
Pledges
Sanders signed the following pledges.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mark Sanders completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sanders' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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As a husband, father, and grandfather, I recognize the centrality of family in all that we look to achieve as a society. I’m a long-time Independent who has always been an active member of my local community. Wherever I’ve lived, I’ve conspired with others of diverse political affiliations to creatively upset the local Establishment, regardless of party.
Most importantly, in all things I strive to be a faithful disciple of Jesus by advancing the lot of “the poor” – i.e. regular folks struggling to navigate a hostile economy and culture. I often refer to myself as a “progressive populist” – an independent whose primary focus is on the interests of hard-working Oklahomans, living paycheck-to-paycheck.
I’m also a lawyer and teacher who has benefitted from excellent public and private education. Throughout my diverse 40-year legal career I’ve been recognized as a creative and respectful “bridge-builder”. I intend to use those same skills in Congress to find, or broker, common ground across the political spectrum.
- We must regenerate a diverse and autonomous U.S. economy by reclaiming our industrial base from the ravages of globalism, while reversing globalism’s windfalls -- i.e. the growing disparities of wealth and income between global economic Elites and the rest of us.
- We must promote working class solidarity by de-emphasizing divisive issues of identity; looking instead for neutral policy solutions that can unite and inspire working Americans of all races, creeds and orientations.
- We must focus our military on defense of the homeland, including re-securing our Southern Border, while adopting a non-interventionist foreign policy that emphasizes humanitarian aid and utilizes American power to end, rather than perpetuate, international conflicts.
Tax Reform.
Expanding access to Health Care.
Balancing Energy Independence with the threats of climate change
Immigration, Asylum & related Border issues.
Foreign Policy
Effects of Social Media and other aspects of digital culture.
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 website
Sanders’ campaign website stated the following:
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Our Problems Demand an Independent Approach Storm clouds are brewing on the horizon. Our tolerance of globalization and monopoly power has resulted in a disparity in wealth and income that is unconscionable … and growing. And the global Elites in whom that wealth is concentrating are more than happy to foment our current culture wars – in order to have us unnaturally divided by personal identity or political tribe, rather than class. If that were not disturbing enough, our embrace of materialism and digital culture has left our communities soulless and disconnected, fueling polarization and saddling our youth with an epidemic of despondency. As a result, our very survival as a civilization and Union now hangs in the balance. There is no time to wait; this is Mark’s urgent call to action. He will head to Washington with a singular focus: to reclaim our economy and revive our culture. As a first principle, Mark’s campaign is one deeply rooted in his personal faith, which compels Christians to emulate Jesus’ ministry and bring “good news to the poor”. In looking to Jesus’ Gospel for guidance, Mark humbly traces the same inspirational path as Martin Luther King, Jr., who famously stated -- "I didn't get my inspiration from Karl Marx; I got it from a man named Jesus, a Galilean saint who … was anointed to heal the brokenhearted. He was anointed to deal with the problems of the poor.” So the framework Mark will utilize to analyze and devise legislation is first to assess the degree to which it will advance the lot of “the poor” – i.e. hard-working Americans struggling economically and psychologically to navigate a hostile economy and culture. At the end of the day, Mark will ask what policies best serve the interests of working Oklahomans, living paycheck-to-paycheck. In a word, his faith-based approach is a "populist" agenda. Mark refuses to be constrained by national party platforms. His focus on the well-being of the common man naturally produces a broad, eclectic mix of policy positions - many do not line up with current partisan labelling because they creatively balance and meld diverse approaches, and utilize practical solutions that neither major party has the guts or clarity to address effectively. Economy Mark’s “take”-- "We live in an age in which the economy works well only for a narrow, affluent sliver of Americans, while the bulk of our population lives paycheck-to-paycheck in an environment of soul-rending materialism, meaningless careers, crushed expectations, and ever-widening disparities of wealth and income. A majority of people alive right now can remember a different economic reality; one where prosperity was more broadly shared, folks worked hard at challenging jobs, and Americans appreciated having the world's highest standard of living. The American economy is currently afflicted by deep structural ills that disproportionately and negatively impact the working class. Our leaders’ failure to protect and repatriate our industries, their willingness to tolerate market failures and indulge crony capitalism, has led us to a moment of crisis." We must also reverse globalization’s windfalls by addressing the growing disparities of wealth and income between economic Elites and the rest of us. This rebalancing is best achieved through our tax system.
Individual Rights & Social Policy Mark’s “take”-- "Issues of individual rights and personal identity are currently at the forefront of our political discourse. Whether it be debates over abortion, gun rights, the prevalence of systemic racism or youth gender dysphoria, cultural issues seem to dominate the agendas of our current political “tribes”. These battles are a distraction from the more fundamental and consequential battle to reclaim our shared economic prosperity from the global economic elites. By design, the Elites are encouraging identity politics to distract us from class-based economic disparities and dissuade us from class solidarity. I look for policy solutions that can unite, rather than divide, working class Americans." "It is now a well-established fact that America is experiencing an epidemic of youth despondency, resulting in thousands of annual deaths by suicide; and that heartbreaking trend closely tracks the advent of social media and its near universal adoption by our vulnerable youth. If a biological pathogen were causing such mass casualties, we would spare nothing to “stop the spread”. How can we then, in good conscience, not take every available legislative and regulatory step to stanch this mental health emergency?"
Foreign Policy & Defense Mark’s “take”-- "I have lived long enough to see the general futility of U.S. covert operations, “nation-building”, and outright military intervention all over the world. Whether it be CIA operations in Iran under the Shah, arming the Contras in Nicaragua, military “mission creep” in Vietnam, hubris and deception in “liberating” Iraq, etc., all of these conflicts were tactically and/or militarily unsuccessful, left our reputation on the world stage bruised, and often sowed the seeds of future regional conflict. The interventionist impulse of neoconservatives and neoliberals is not only immoral, but also has proven to be profoundly counterproductive. We should engage with the world and its conflicts, but only as the globe’s most generous contributor of humanitarian and peacekeeping assistance." "Our Southern Border is the flash point for so much of what ails us as a nation. This absolutely insane situation is not sustainable without grave damage to our national sovereignty and permanent injury to the health and livelihood of individual Americans and their local communities."
Environment & Energy Mark’s “take”-- "Climate change is an existential challenge for America and the world. There is no doubt the planet is warming, and that a substantial part of that warming is due to human activity. There is plenty we can do, individually and as a nation, to be responsible stewards of our planet; and I’m committed to advancing those solutions in Congress. But there’s only so much we can do alone without ceding our economic sovereignty to our global rivals, and consigning our working class to unfair international competition. I favor an “All of the Above” energy policy – maintaining strategic fossil fuel independence while aggressively developing sustainable alternatives."
Democracy & Elections Mark’s “take”-- "With uniform eligibility and balloting laws in place, the election objections of 2020, and nightmare of January 6, likely would never have occurred. That’s because the most serious challenges to presidential Electors arose from the idiosyncratic and disparately enforced balloting and tabulation laws of individual states, most notably Pennsylvania and Arizona." "Due to gerrymandering and other partisanship, well over half of Oklahoma elections are decided without a general election - effectively disenfranchising thousands of Oklahomans of all political affiliations. We will all benefit by moving our federal elections to a non-partisan system akin to that used in the City of Tulsa for municipal offices." "The Valeo & Citizens United decisions represent the most disenfranchising legal development since the Civil War, as oligarchs and their non-natural creations are now empowered to completely drown out the political speech of regular Americans of ordinary means. This Constitutional error has ushered in the absurd, anti-democratic, and Establishment-supporting era of PAC spending, unregulated dark money, etc."
Tribal Issues Mark’s “take”-- "Indian Country is currently dealing with serious issues arising at the intersection of Tribal sovereignty and State governance. The resulting chaos – caused by the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision – presents a clear and present danger to the safety and livelihood of all Oklahomans. The good news is that McGirt reaffirmed Congress’ plenary authority to bring resolution to such issues. The bad news is that our Congressperson, Kevin Hern, is completely “asleep at the switch” -- allowing our tribes and Governor to continue on a dysfunctional path in the vacuum of Congressional action and leadership. As a person of Indigenous heritage, I begin with an admitted bias in favor of Native rights. I grieve the genocide and injustice historically perpetrated on my ancestors (and all indigenous peoples) by European colonists and later, by proponents of Manifest Destiny. By the same token, as a Member of Congress I will have a responsibility to assess the contemporary realities of tribal rights and relations, and use my office to craft creative solutions that benefit all residents of Indian Country."
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| —Mark Sanders’ campaign website (2024)[3] | ||
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
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 7, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Sanders for Oklahoma, “Priorities,” accessed October 15, 2024
