Steve Sanford

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

Steve Sanford

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 13, 2025

Education

High school

Henryetta High School

Personal

Birthplace

Tulsa, Okla.

Religion

Nazarene

Profession

Businessman

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Steve Sanford (independent) ran in a special election to the Oklahoma State Senate to represent District 8. He lost in the special general election on May 13, 2025.

Sanford completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Steve Sanford was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He earned a high school diploma from Henryetta High School. His career experience includes working as a businessman, convoy driver, and flight operations coordinator. As of 2025, Sanford was affiliated with the Lions Club.

Elections

2025

See also: Oklahoma state legislative special elections, 2025

General election

Special general election for Oklahoma State Senate District 8

Bryan Logan defeated Nathan Brewer and Steve Sanford in the special general election for Oklahoma State Senate District 8 on May 13, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bryan Logan (R)	61.6	3,083
		Nathan Brewer (D)	29.7	1,484
		Steve Sanford (Independent)	8.7	436

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,003
= 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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Republican primary runoff election

Special Republican primary runoff for Oklahoma State Senate District 8

Bryan Logan defeated David Nelson in the special Republican primary runoff for Oklahoma State Senate District 8 on April 1, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bryan Logan	55.6	2,893
	Submit photo	David Nelson	44.4	2,313

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,206
= 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

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Nathan Brewer advanced from the special Democratic primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 8.

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 8

The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 8 on March 4, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bryan Logan	40.7	1,521
✔	Submit photo	David Nelson	31.6	1,181
	Submit photo	Hoss Durrett	18.0	674
		Steven Baldridge	7.0	260
	Submit photo	Jeff Ramsey	2.2	82
	Submit photo	Ed Jolly (Unofficially withdrew)	0.5	18

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,736
= 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 Sanford in this election.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve Sanford completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sanford'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.

My name is Steve Sanford. I have been happily married for the last thirteen years. I have one daughter from a previous marriage. I am from Henryetta Ok, Class of 84. I drove OTR for approximately sixteen years. I worked in Iraq supporting the War Fighter from 2004 - 2011. I am a small business owner . I built , own and operate Rustlers BBQ in Henryetta Ok. We have been open and successful for the last nine years.I am an active member in my community .I rallied my community to save a piece of Henryetta and Oklahoma History after my city slated it to be torn down. The Caretakers house at Nichols Park. It was built by the CCC , designed by the National Park Service between 1939 - 1941. I am Vice Mayor Ward 1. I am currently half way through my first term as a councilman. I believe if you want to make a difference in your community you have to put yourself in a place where you can. I am a Lions Club member , previously a member of the chamber of commerce board of directors.

Opening a business in my hometown has helped me to reconnect with my community. I enjoy being a council member and trying to help my community and the citizens in it. Together there isn’t anything we can’t do.

Labor Omnia Vincit

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?

• When I went to the State Capitol to sign up to run for Senate District 8 I immediately felt like I didn’t belong here and the more I thought about that the more I thought that’s exactly why I do belong here. I am a hard working small businessman that understands my District and the people in it.i know how to talk to people but more importantly I know how to listen. I think a lot of politicians have forgotten how to listen. As an Independent Candidate I will focus my time working on the issues that we face in my District and in our State. I can and will work with everyone for everyone .
• In a mostly rural district we sometimes feel overlooked or forgotten. We need jobs, we need housing, we need education and training. we need our failing infrastructure repaired or rebuilt. We need to work with our communities to recognize our strong points and our weak points and find ways to capitalize on our strong points . Find the right business, resources or training to help grow our communities.
• Education gets a lot of attention . I feel like we need to make sure At a minimum our Oklahoma Teachers pay scale matches the States around us- at a minimum! I think we should focus our efforts on Education until we get ourselves out of almost last place in the Nation! As a small business man trying to find Contractors in Small town Oklahoma it is getting more and more difficult. There will be a gap in these services, how big of a gap will be up to us. We need to work on offering more Vocational training.we need to work with our Teachers and Superintendants to come up with working solutions to get Oklahoma Education back on track!

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about our history after all it was an old house that started me on this path. State and local parks are important to our communities. Recreation is important to the well being of our citizens. It can also be a source of revenue for smaller communities. Ball fields, hiking and biking trails, swimming and fishing.

I would have to say creating policies that put education first would mean a lot to me. With an educated citizenship we will be better prepared to live, grow work and enjoy life in Oklahoma.

Working together there isn’t anything we can’t achieve!

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

John Wayne- The way he portrayed the American Cowboy. Always doing the right thing no matter the cost.

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

Honesty , integrity and work ethic! An elected official has been voted in to a position to represent the people in their district . I think it is very important to represent everyone fairly and honestly . It is an honor to be selected and it is the elected officials duty to do the work, to put in the time to find out what is needed and how to implement plans to help the communities and people in their district and State

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

As a small business man I understand what it means to build something , run and operate it. A lot of small communities rely on small business for their needs . I believe in doing the work . I don’t quit and I understand as an elected official my time will be devoted to the people of my district. No one will work harder than me for my district.
I believe in doing the right thing every time! I don’t believe in short cuts!

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

To help my community, as an elected official I am the voice of my District. I listen to the needs of the people of my District . I look for way to benefit those people . I am also their means for transparency in government. It is my job to let my district know what is happening at the Capitol.

What legacy would you like to leave?

How would I like to be remembered , i would hope to be remembered as a guy that did the best he could with what he had. I would hope that some would see me helping others and because of that they did the same.

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

I was 10 years old. The Bicentenial 1776-1976 . I remember a wagon Train Parade coming through town . They were crossing the USA.

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

I had a Paper route in the seventh grade. I think about a year

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Spiderman , or just about any character in those old John Wayne movies. When I was a kid Big Jake was a favorite movie.
Jacob McCandles was tough and he was fair. Standing up for the little guy not worrying the cost.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Jefferson Starship- fooled around and fell in love

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

Having to leave home to make a living. Missing so much to be able to provide for the very lives missed .

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Vocational training, a lack of skilled trades/Contractors

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe any and all experience helps but I also believe the right person with the people’s best interest at heart can be beneficial as well

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes, the better we can get along , the more we know about each other makes it easier to work together towards a common goal. Doing what is best for the citizens of our districts and State

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

I’m more concerned in being elected and helping my district

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

I would like to introduce a bill thats focus would be on education! Aiming at restoring our education program to where it needs to be to help our kids be better prepared to enter college or the work force .

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I believe in transparency , everyone has the right to know what’s going on in our Government. I believe all Officials should be held accountable for their actions.

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

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also

2025 Elections

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Candidate

Oklahoma State Senate District 8

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Oklahoma State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Julie Daniels

Senators

District 1

Micheal Bergstrom (R)

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

Christi Gillespie (R)

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)