Tom Newell
2024 - Present
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Tom Newell (Republican Party) is the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Oklahoma. Newell assumed office on December 2, 2024.
Tom Newell (b. December 4, 1968) is also a former Republican member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing District 28 from 2010 to 2016. Newell resigned from his position effective December 31, 2016 in order to take a position in the private sector.[1]
Chief of staff
- See also: Gubernatorial chiefs of staff
In 2024, Ballotpedia identified Tom Newell as a gubernatorial chief of staff. A chief of staff is the lead staff member of an administration and is responsible for implementing the governor's agenda.
The role is both a managerial and advisory position, although specific duties vary by each administration. The chief of staff typically has the following responsibilities, according to the National Governors Association (NGA):[2]
- Control access to the governor and manage the governor's calendar;
- Monitor the flow of information to the governor on policy issues;
- Oversee gubernatorial Cabinet and staff; and
- Manage and communicate the governor's policy agenda to the state legislature and the public.
In terms of policymaking, the NGA notes that a chief of staff is responsible for bringing policy and communications together: "The chief is responsible for overseeing the development of the governor’s policy agenda. The policy director or advisor is typically responsible for shaping the general concepts and specific details of the agenda with input from the communications director, policy staff, and cabinet members. The chief often must take charge and bring the pieces together coherently."[2]
Biography
Newell earned his B.A. in Bible and pastoral ministry from Mid-America Christian University and his MBA from Liberty University. His professional experience includes working as a pastor and teaching business and economics classes at Seminole State College.[3]
Campaign themes
2014
Newell's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[4]
A True, Small-Government Conservative
- Excerpt: "Tom Newell is a Constitutional conservative who believes government has grown too large and out of control. He knows we can shrink the size of government if we work to eliminate the millions and millions of dollars of waste in state government."
Cut spending and focus on priorities
- Excerpt: "While Tom wants to trim excessive government spending, he knows we need to focus on priorities. Tom grew up in a law enforcement family. He is an instructor at Seminole State College, and his kids attend Seminole Public Schools. Tom will work to achieve a balance between cutting wasteful areas and making sure necessary functions of government are adequately supported."
Allow the free market to work
- Excerpt: "Tom understands that the best way to improve Oklahoma’s economy is to give small business owners the room to create jobs, and to let families control more of their own money."
A plan to spark job growth
- Excerpt: "Tom believes we should stop penalizing Oklahomans who have the courage to start a small business, and do more to attract large employers to the state. That’s why he wants to remove regulations on both small and large employers, so they can afford to create more of the quality, high-paying jobs our families need."
Elections
2016
Elections for the Oklahoma House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 15, 2016.
Incumbent Tom Newell defeated Marilyn Rainwater in the Oklahoma House of Representatives District 28 general election.[5]
| Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 28 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Tom Newell Incumbent |
66.82% | 8,174 | |
| Democratic | Marilyn Rainwater | 33.18% | 4,059 | |
| Total Votes | 12,233 | |||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board | ||||
Marilyn Rainwater defeated Jason Leonard and Yasminda Choate in the Oklahoma House of Representatives District 28 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 28 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Marilyn Rainwater |
53.38% | 1,121 | |
| Democratic | Jason Leonard | 25.14% | 528 | |
| Democratic | Yasminda Choate | 21.48% | 451 | |
| Total Votes | 2,100 | |||
Incumbent Tom Newell ran unopposed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives District 28 Republican primary.[6][7]
| Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 28 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Tom Newell Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Oklahoma House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 11, 2014. Incumbent Tom Newell was unopposed in the Republican primary, while Jason Leonard was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Newell defeated Leonard in the general election.[8][9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Newell Incumbent |
69.3% | 4,941 | |
| Democratic | Jason Leonard | 30.7% | 2,184 | |
| Total Votes | 7,125 | |||
2012
Newell ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 28. He ran unopposed in the June 26 Republican primary and defeated Marilyn Rainwater in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11][12][13][14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Newell Incumbent |
62.8% | 7,097 | |
| Democratic | Marilyn Rainwater | 37.2% | 4,202 | |
| Total Votes | 11,299 | |||
2010
Newell defeated Bryan D. Cain in the Republican primary on July 27 by a margin of 1,114-717. He defeated Ed Smith (D) in the general election.[15][16][17][18]
| Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 28 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Tom Newell (R)
|
5,339 | |||
| Ed Smith (D) | 3,425 | |||
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.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Newell and his wife, Holly, have three sons, Ethan, Andrew and Levi.[3]
State legislative tenure
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Oklahoma scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Oklahoma State Legislature was in session from February 3 to May 22.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators were scored based on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to children's interests.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Oklahoma State Legislature was in session from February 4 through May 31.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the 56th Oklahoma State Legislature, second session, was in session from February 5 through May 3.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 56th Oklahoma State Legislature, first session, was in session from February 6 through May 26. The legislature began a special session on September 25. The session ended on November 17. The legislature began another special session on December 18, which adjourned on December 22.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 55th Oklahoma State Legislature, second session, was in session from February 1 through May 27.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 55th Oklahoma State Legislature, first session, was in session from February 2 through May 22.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 54th Oklahoma State Legislature, second session, was in session from February 3 to May 23.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 54th Oklahoma State Legislature, first session, was in session from February 4 to May 24.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 53rd Oklahoma State Legislature, second session, was in session from February 6 to May 25.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 53rd Oklahoma State Legislature, first session, was in session from February 7 to May 27.
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Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Newell served on the following committees:
| Oklahoma committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Government Oversight & Accountability, Chair |
| • Business, Labor & Retirement Laws |
| • Children, Youth & Family Services |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Newell served on the following committees:
| Oklahoma committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Wildlife |
| • Appropriations and Budget, Vice chair |
| • Judiciary |
| • Long-Term Care and Senior Services |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Newell served on the following committees:
| Oklahoma committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Wildlife, and Environment |
| • Higher Education & Career Tech |
| • Long-Term Care & Senior Services |
See also
- Oklahoma House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Oklahoma State Legislature
- Oklahoma state legislative districts
- Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt
- Oklahoma City
- Gubernatorial chiefs of staff
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from the Oklahoma House of Representatives
- Profile from Open States
- Tom Newell on Facebook
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ News9, "State Representative Tom Newell announces resignation," accessed January 2, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 National Governors Association, "The Many Roles of the Governor’s Chief of Staff," accessed April 20, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Project Vote Smart, "Biography of Rep. Tom Newell," accessed May 28, 2014
- ↑ Vote Newell, "Issues," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Federal, State, Legislative and Judicial Races General Election — November 8, 2016," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Oklahoma State Election Board, "2016 Candidate List Book (Official List of Candidates)," accessed April 18, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Oklahoma State Election Board, "Official Results - Primary Election," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Candidates for State Elective Officials 2014," accessed April 15, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Official Results Statewide Primary Election — June 24, 2014," accessed July 10, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Official General Election Results, Federal, State, Legislative and Judicial Races — November 4, 2014," accessed November 5, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Candidates for State Elective Office 2012," April 13, 2012
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Official Primary Election Results— June 26, 2012," July 6, 2012
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Runoff Primary Election Results— August 28, 2012," accessed May 25, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "General Election Results— November 6, 2012," accessed May 25, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Oklahoma Candidates for State Elective Office 2010," accessed May 25, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Summary Results Primary Election — July 27, 2010," accessed May 25, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Summary Results Runoff Primary Election — August 24, 2010," accessed May 25, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Summary Results General Election — November 2, 2010," accessed May 25, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Grayson Walker (R) |
Chief of Staff to the Governor of Oklahoma 2024-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Oklahoma House of Representatives District 28 2010-2016 |
Succeeded by - |
