WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.879 Welcome to the show. It is fantastic to have 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:06.179 you joining us. We actually have a custom -tailored 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:08.919 deep dive prepared specifically for you today. 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:11.539 And the mission we're embarking on is actually 00:00:11.539 --> 00:00:13.800 quite a unique challenge. It really is. I mean, 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:16.079 we're taking a document that, on its surface, 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:18.899 looks incredibly simple. Maybe even a little 00:00:18.899 --> 00:00:21.379 dry, honestly. Yeah, exactly. Just a raw list 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:23.920 of names and dates. But we are going to extract 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:27.519 the hidden stories, the political shifts, the 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:30.079 historical quirks, and really just the sheer 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:33.020 human unpredictability that's hiding right there 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:35.479 in the columns and rows. Because, you know, sometimes 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:38.310 the most captivating narratives aren't. They 00:00:38.310 --> 00:00:40.409 aren't spelled out in these dramatic biographies 00:00:40.409 --> 00:00:42.429 or sweeping historical paragraphs. No, they're 00:00:42.429 --> 00:00:45.049 buried in the raw data. Yeah. In spreadsheets 00:00:45.049 --> 00:00:47.030 and timelines and in seemingly straightforward 00:00:47.030 --> 00:00:50.570 lists. When you really learn how to read the 00:00:50.570 --> 00:00:53.049 negative space in a data set. Oh, an entire world 00:00:53.049 --> 00:00:55.549 opens up. It does. So to set the stage for you, 00:00:55.630 --> 00:00:58.390 you should know our only source for today's deep 00:00:58.390 --> 00:01:01.750 dive is a Wikipedia list. Specifically, the list 00:01:01.750 --> 00:01:04.120 of United States senators from Oklahoma. That 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:08.239 is it. No outside historical textbooks, no supplementary 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:12.439 biographies, no external context. We are exclusively 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:15.599 analyzing the raw data provided in this single 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:18.870 document. Just the names, the dates, the electoral 00:01:18.870 --> 00:01:22.909 histories and those tiny, easily overlooked notes 00:01:22.909 --> 00:01:25.549 attached to specific terms. Which sounds restrictive, 00:01:25.670 --> 00:01:28.370 I know. It does sound restrictive. But confining 00:01:28.370 --> 00:01:31.030 ourselves to a simple list of names and dates 00:01:31.030 --> 00:01:33.909 actually provides a, well, a phenomenal chronological 00:01:33.909 --> 00:01:36.189 map of a state's history. Yeah, because when 00:01:36.189 --> 00:01:39.159 you look closely at these timelines. The names 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:41.200 stop being just a roster. You start seeing the 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:43.900 friction. Exactly. You notice the gaps. The sudden 00:01:43.900 --> 00:01:46.280 overlaps. The abrupt truncations of decades -long 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:48.439 careers. Okay, let's unpack this because right 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:50.939 out of the gate, the very first data point gives 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:53.780 us a fantastic anomaly. It really does. According 00:01:53.780 --> 00:01:55.480 to our source document, the state of Oklahoma 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:57.879 was officially admitted to the union on November 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:01.870 16, 1907. But when you look at the actual timeline 00:02:01.870 --> 00:02:04.769 mapping out the senators, the state didn't elect 00:02:04.769 --> 00:02:08.009 its inaugural senators until December 11th, 1907. 00:02:08.270 --> 00:02:10.590 What's fascinating here is that for the very 00:02:10.590 --> 00:02:13.150 first month of its existence as an official state 00:02:13.150 --> 00:02:16.449 in the union, Oklahoma had completely vacant 00:02:16.449 --> 00:02:20.030 Senate seats. Completely vacant. Yeah. The data 00:02:20.030 --> 00:02:23.069 explicitly records the status as vacant from 00:02:23.069 --> 00:02:26.729 November 16th to December 11. It even comes complete 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:29.150 with a note indicating that the state just didn't 00:02:29.150 --> 00:02:32.090 elect its senators until nearly a month after 00:02:32.090 --> 00:02:34.370 statehood was achieved. I mean, think about the 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:36.590 logistical vulnerability of that for a moment. 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:39.770 Oh, it's wild. A brand new state is finally integrated 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:42.169 into the country. But for roughly four weeks, 00:02:42.310 --> 00:02:45.409 it has absolutely zero voice in her upper chamber 00:02:45.409 --> 00:02:47.819 of the federal legislature. Just blinks. Spaces. 00:02:47.819 --> 00:02:50.120 Literally blank spaces where their representation 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:52.120 is supposed to be. It's like it's like showing 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:54.599 up for your first day at a brand new job, but 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:56.599 they don't give you a desk or a computer login 00:02:56.599 --> 00:02:58.360 for the first month. That's a great analogy. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.240 It's a stark reminder of how bureaucratic mechanics 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:04.120 rarely align perfectly with, you know, celebratory 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:06.460 historical milestones. Right. The statehood declaration 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:08.960 happens on one specific day with all the fanfare. 00:03:09.259 --> 00:03:12.180 But the actual machinery of electing and seating 00:03:12.180 --> 00:03:15.599 politicians lags behind. It sets a precedent 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:17.939 for the entire document. Honestly, it really 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:21.319 does. Because the mechanics of the Senate dictate. 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:23.860 the rhythm of everything that follows on this 00:03:23.860 --> 00:03:25.900 list. Yeah. And you already know the Senate operates 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:28.439 on staggered classes, right? Right. So the whole 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:30.900 chamber isn't empty at once. Exactly. It functions 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:33.599 as a continuous body, like a rotating shift schedule 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:36.180 at a hospital or a 24 -hour restaurant. Yeah. 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:38.580 Making sure someone is always on the clock. Precisely. 00:03:38.580 --> 00:03:41.460 But when you look at Oklahoma's specific mapping 00:03:41.460 --> 00:03:44.020 for class two and class three seats here, you 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:46.800 can actually trace the exact moments where unexpected 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:50.780 events jam those gears. In Oklahoma's case, observing 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:53.469 those two classes side by side reveals just how 00:03:53.469 --> 00:03:55.930 asynchronous they're supposed to be. Yeah. Our 00:03:55.930 --> 00:03:58.069 source document lays out the modern electoral 00:03:58.069 --> 00:04:01.550 cycle perfectly. For class two, the U .S. senators 00:04:01.550 --> 00:04:04.090 belong to an electoral cycle recently contested 00:04:04.090 --> 00:04:07.610 in 2008, 2014, 2020. And then there's a special 00:04:07.610 --> 00:04:10.210 election in 2022. And the next regular election 00:04:10.210 --> 00:04:13.909 for this class is slated for 2026. Right. Meanwhile, 00:04:14.189 --> 00:04:16.170 the class three seat belongs to a completely 00:04:16.170 --> 00:04:18.750 different cycle. Completely different. That one 00:04:18.750 --> 00:04:21.410 was recently contested in 2010, then a special 00:04:21.410 --> 00:04:24.629 election in 2014, followed by regular elections 00:04:24.629 --> 00:04:28.189 in 2016 and 2022. The next election for Class 00:04:28.189 --> 00:04:31.009 3 will be in 2028. So normally these two lanes 00:04:31.009 --> 00:04:33.290 run parallel. They alternate election years so 00:04:33.290 --> 00:04:35.810 the state's delegation is never fully overturned 00:04:35.810 --> 00:04:37.970 in a single night. But the data shows us exactly 00:04:37.970 --> 00:04:40.470 what happens when that carefully staggered system 00:04:40.470 --> 00:04:43.649 breaks down. It does. Imagine being a voter trying 00:04:43.649 --> 00:04:45.949 to keep track of this. You look at those recent 00:04:45.949 --> 00:04:50.029 years, 2014 and again in 2022, and you see special 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:52.269 elections suddenly forcing both classes onto 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:54.569 the ballot simultaneously. The intended asynchronous 00:04:54.569 --> 00:04:57.269 nature of the Senate is completely overridden. 00:04:57.350 --> 00:04:59.389 Suddenly, a voter is electing their entire Senate 00:04:59.389 --> 00:05:02.430 delegation at the exact same time. It fundamentally 00:05:02.430 --> 00:05:04.889 alters the political gravity of a state for that 00:05:04.889 --> 00:05:07.930 election cycle. It really does. And looking at 00:05:07.930 --> 00:05:10.350 the very beginning of the state's history shows 00:05:10.350 --> 00:05:12.910 us who actually inaugurated those two staggered 00:05:12.910 --> 00:05:15.730 lanes. Right. Going back to December 1907. The 00:05:15.730 --> 00:05:18.129 first delegation consisted of Robert L. Owen 00:05:18.129 --> 00:05:20.689 and Thomas Gore. OK, so Robert L. Owen takes 00:05:20.689 --> 00:05:23.610 the class two seat. He enters as a Democrat. 00:05:24.139 --> 00:05:26.920 And looking at his electoral history, he establishes 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:29.939 a very solid, continuous baseline. Very stable. 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.860 He's elected in 1907, reelected in 1913, reelected 00:05:33.860 --> 00:05:36.779 again in 1918. And then the notes indicate he 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:39.180 simply retired, ending his time in office on 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:43.060 March 4th, 1925. It's a clean, conventional political 00:05:43.060 --> 00:05:46.839 arc. It is. And really, it is a sea of blue in 00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:49.040 those early decades. Looking at these early names, 00:05:49.220 --> 00:05:51.699 the state is completely dominated by the Democratic 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:54.240 Party. Oh, absolutely. And actually, as a quick 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:56.339 reminder for you listening, our goal today is 00:05:56.339 --> 00:05:58.519 just to read the map. We aren't taking political 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:00.839 sides or diving into party platforms. Right. 00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:03.100 No endorsements here. Exactly. We are simply 00:06:03.100 --> 00:06:06.500 tracking how this raw Wikipedia data shifts from 00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:08.740 one side of the aisle to the other over a century. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:11.189 We impartially report that. historical trends 00:06:11.189 --> 00:06:13.949 precisely as they appear in the text. Which brings 00:06:13.949 --> 00:06:16.110 us to Owens counterpart in that first delegation. 00:06:16.449 --> 00:06:19.350 Thomas Gore. Yes. Here's where it gets really 00:06:19.350 --> 00:06:21.529 interesting. I love this part. Thomas Gore's 00:06:21.529 --> 00:06:24.029 path through the Senate data looks like a glitch 00:06:24.029 --> 00:06:26.709 in the matrix. It really does. He takes the class 00:06:26.709 --> 00:06:30.050 three seat in 1907 as a Democrat. The data shows 00:06:30.050 --> 00:06:32.889 him getting reelected in 1909 and then reelected 00:06:32.889 --> 00:06:37.290 again in 1914. But then his timeline hits a sudden 00:06:37.290 --> 00:06:40.939 wall. A brick wall. In 1920, the electoral history 00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:45.180 note simply reads, Lost Renomination. His first 00:06:45.180 --> 00:06:49.480 run concludes on March 4, 1921. Now, from a purely 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:52.379 statistical perspective, losing a renomination 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:55.120 usually marks the permanent end of a political 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:57.220 timeline in this kind of data set. Right. You're 00:06:57.220 --> 00:06:59.459 usually done. A Republican named John W. Harold 00:06:59.459 --> 00:07:02.740 takes that class three seat in 1921. And conventionally, 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:05.040 you would expect Thomas Gore to fade entirely 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:07.500 from the records. Just become a footnote. Exactly. 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:09.379 But if you keep scanning down the columns of 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:11.600 the 1920s, you realize Gore didn't just disappear. 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:14.120 He essentially vanishes for a decade and then 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.129 suddenly he reappears in the data. He does. In 00:07:17.129 --> 00:07:19.589 1930, Thomas Gore is elected to the Senate again, 00:07:19.750 --> 00:07:21.689 but he doesn't return to his old class three 00:07:21.689 --> 00:07:23.870 seat. No, he is elected as a class two senator. 00:07:23.990 --> 00:07:26.550 He completely switches lanes. Serving from March 00:07:26.550 --> 00:07:30.579 4, 1931 to January 3, 1937. I mean, it requires 00:07:30.579 --> 00:07:33.160 a tremendous amount of calculated patience to 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:35.759 pull that off. Oh, the resilience is incredible. 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:38.160 He had to wait out the entombance, completely 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.699 re -engineer his coalition after 10 years out 00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:43.319 of federal office, and campaign for an entirely 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:46.019 different seat cycle. And then, at the end of 00:07:46.019 --> 00:07:49.459 that 1937 term, history repeats itself. Sadly, 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:52.360 yes. The notes for his 1936 electoral history 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:56.519 state, once again, lost renomination. The emotional 00:07:56.519 --> 00:07:59.439 whiplash hiding behind those stark dates is just... 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:04.220 Think about it. 1907 to 1921, followed by a decade 00:08:04.220 --> 00:08:08.160 in their oldness, and then 1931 to 1937. You 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:11.519 pour your life into a role for 14 years, lose 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.540 it, wait a full decade, fight your way back in 00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:16.899 for one more term, only to be ousted by your 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:20.060 own party a second time. It's brutal. It is a 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:22.259 profound demonstration of resilience that you 00:08:22.259 --> 00:08:24.720 only catch if you are actively comparing the 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:26.980 separate class columns. And eventually, Gore's 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:29.279 turbulent timeline gives way to a period defined 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:31.439 by incredibly dominant long -term stability. 00:08:31.779 --> 00:08:33.919 As we move into the mid -century records, the 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:35.879 data reveals a profound streak of democratic 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:38.019 longevity. Yeah, take Elmer Thomas, for example. 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:40.639 He was a Democrat who captured the class three 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:44.259 seat in 1926. He held on to that position from 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:47.879 March 4th, 1927, all the way to January 3, 1951. 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.039 That is a massive 24 -year block of continuous 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:54.240 representation. Racking up re -elections in 1932, 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.120 1938, and 1944, before finally losing his re 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:00.179 -nomination. And the person who took over that 00:09:00.179 --> 00:09:02.179 class three seat immediately established his 00:09:02.179 --> 00:09:04.919 own era of dominance. Mike Monroney, another 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:09.100 Democrat, served from January 3, 1951 to January 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:12.820 3, 1969. 18 years in office. Successfully navigating 00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:16.519 reelections in 1956 and 1962. So when you combine 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:18.700 Thomas and Monroney, you have two men controlling 00:09:18.700 --> 00:09:21.879 that single class three seat for over four decades. 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.379 That's an astonishing level of consistency for 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:26.440 one seat. But while class three was locked down 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:29.019 in decades of stability. The class two lane was 00:09:29.019 --> 00:09:31.179 about to experience one of the most chaotic rapid 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:33.799 fire disruptions documented in the entire source. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.740 This is where the timeline really fractures. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:37.899 Let's trace the data on Robert S. Kerr. He's 00:09:37.899 --> 00:09:40.019 a Democrat who wins the class two seat in 1948, 00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:43.500 taking office in 1949. And he follows the established 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:46.399 pattern of his era, securing reelections in 1954 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:49.860 and 1960. He appears to be yet another multi 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:52.139 -term incumbent settling in for the long haul. 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:55.539 But then. His electoral history abruptly ends 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:59.320 with a single word. Died. Robert S. Kerr died 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:02.820 in office on January 1st, 1963. If we connect 00:10:02.820 --> 00:10:05.200 this to the bigger picture, a sudden death in 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:07.559 office does immense damage to the structural 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:10.240 integrity of the Senate's staggered cycles. Oh, 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:12.100 absolutely. The mechanical scramble that follows 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:14.620 is intense. Let's break down exactly how this 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:17.799 single tragic data point on New Year's Day triggered 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:20.740 a domino effect of political turbulence. Tracing 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:23.190 the exact dates in the data set. really highlights 00:10:23.190 --> 00:10:26.320 the chaos for the listener. Kerr dies on January 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:30.299 1st. From January 1st, 1963 to January 7th, 1963, 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:33.200 the seat is officially documented as vacant. 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:35.960 So for almost a week, the state is down a senator. 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:37.759 Down a senator scrambling to figure out what 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:40.899 to do. Then on January 7th, J. Howard Edmondson, 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:43.659 a Democrat, is appointed to continue Kerr's term. 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:46.379 But the data set makes a clear distinction between 00:10:46.379 --> 00:10:49.279 an appointed senator and an elected one. Right, 00:10:49.340 --> 00:10:51.559 because the notes reveal Edmondson's last nomination 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:54.529 to finish Kerr's term. His brief tenure ends 00:10:54.529 --> 00:10:57.629 on November 3rd, 1964. And on that exact same 00:10:57.629 --> 00:11:01.690 day, November 3rd, 1964, the voters elect Fred 00:11:01.690 --> 00:11:04.549 R. Harris, also a Democrat, to finish out the 00:11:04.549 --> 00:11:07.149 remainder of Kerr's original term. Then Harris 00:11:07.149 --> 00:11:09.710 goes on to be reelected in his own right in 1966, 00:11:10.230 --> 00:11:12.809 finally bringing stability back to the seat before 00:11:12.809 --> 00:11:15.850 he retires in 1973. When you step back and look 00:11:15.850 --> 00:11:18.769 at that sequence, it is staggering. We're talking 00:11:18.769 --> 00:11:21.720 about a single Senate seat. In a span of less 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:24.960 than two years, between January 1963 and November 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.759 1964, that one specific seat rotated through 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:31.100 four entirely different statuses. It was held 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:33.220 by a veteran senator. Then it was completely 00:11:33.220 --> 00:11:35.220 vacant. Then it was occupied by an appointed 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:36.779 placeholder who couldn't secure the nomination. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:39.100 And finally, it was claimed by a newly elected 00:11:39.100 --> 00:11:41.940 senator. Decades of planned electoral cycles 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:44.399 were essentially rewritten overnight. It perfectly 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:46.799 illustrates how fragile these political timelines 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:49.639 truly are. But as we move further down the list 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:52.419 into the modern era, the data shifts again. It 00:11:52.419 --> 00:11:54.659 does. The mid -century turbulence was largely 00:11:54.659 --> 00:11:57.240 triggered by unexpected deaths or electoral losses. 00:11:57.500 --> 00:11:59.519 The modern era of Oklahoma senators, however, 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:01.639 is defined by a completely different kind of 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:04.000 disruption. Individuals deciding to walk away 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:06.019 on their own terms. Exactly. The sheer volume 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:08.519 of modern resignations is a wildly surprising 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:12.340 pattern when you analyze the raw data. David 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:14.559 Boren is the perfect starting point for this 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:17.179 trend. He is a Democrat occupying the class two 00:12:17.179 --> 00:12:20.399 seat. Elected in 1978, he serves a very long, 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:24.580 stable tenure from January 3, 1979, right up 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:27.860 until November 15, 1994. And the electoral history 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:30.980 notes give us the precise, highly unusual reason 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:33.480 for his sudden departure. He didn't lose his 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:35.779 reelection campaign. He didn't pass away. He 00:12:35.779 --> 00:12:37.980 resigned specifically to become the president 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:39.980 of the University of Oklahoma. Which is fascinating. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:42.220 You have a prominent national political career. 00:12:42.299 --> 00:12:44.759 You cruise through realizations in 1984 and 1990. 00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:47.240 And you voluntarily step away from the United 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:49.519 States Senate to go run a university. And just 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:52.000 as we saw with Kerr's death decades earlier, 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.460 Boren's resignation forces the system to reset. 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:58.059 We see another gap appear in the data set. The 00:12:58.059 --> 00:13:00.820 seat is listed as vacant from November 15th, 00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:04.419 1994 to November 17th, 1994. It's a much tighter 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:07.429 turnaround. this time. Just a two -day gap compared 00:13:07.429 --> 00:13:09.850 to the week -long vacancy after Kerr's passing. 00:13:10.110 --> 00:13:13.169 And on November 17, Jim Inhofe, a Republican, 00:13:13.450 --> 00:13:16.350 is elected to finish Boren's term. Jim Inhofe's 00:13:16.350 --> 00:13:18.789 entry into the data set marks the beginning of 00:13:18.789 --> 00:13:21.629 a massive era. Truly massive. Our source explicitly 00:13:21.629 --> 00:13:24.149 notes that he becomes Oklahoma's longest -serving 00:13:24.149 --> 00:13:26.639 senator. After taking over that fractured term 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:29.679 in November 1994, he absolutely locks down the 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:32.059 class two seat for a generation. The data shows 00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:36.179 him winning reelection in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:39.080 and 2020. He serves continuously all the way 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:43.379 to January 3, 2023. Nearly 30 years of uninterrupted 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:45.840 representation. Yet even the longest serving 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:48.100 senator in the state's entire history eventually 00:13:48.100 --> 00:13:50.639 succumbs to the modern pattern we are tracking. 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:53.730 Yep. Look closely at the final entry of Inhofe's 00:13:53.730 --> 00:13:56.289 massive timeline. The notes for his 2020 reelection 00:13:56.289 --> 00:13:59.549 term end abruptly with one word, resigned. He 00:13:59.549 --> 00:14:01.669 voluntarily stepped down before finishing his 00:14:01.669 --> 00:14:03.809 final six -year term. Which means the system 00:14:03.809 --> 00:14:06.370 has to scramble to fill the gap once again. Mark 00:14:06.370 --> 00:14:08.629 Wayne Mullen, a Republican, is elected in 2022 00:14:08.629 --> 00:14:11.210 to finish out Inhofe's term, officially taking 00:14:11.210 --> 00:14:14.460 office on January 3, 2023. And this pattern of 00:14:14.460 --> 00:14:16.620 midterm resignations isn't isolated to class 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:19.240 two either. It perfectly mirrors what happened 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:20.860 over in the class three lane just a few years 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:23.500 prior. Let's look at Tom Coburn's data. He was 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:26.379 a Republican elected in 2004, serving from January 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:30.200 3, 2005. He secures reelection in 2010. But the 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:33.320 notes for that 2010 term also conclude with resigned. 00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:36.179 Coburn's resignation triggers the same mechanical 00:14:36.179 --> 00:14:39.940 response. James Lankford, a Republican, is elected 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:42.879 in 2014 specifically to finish Coburn's truncated 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:45.720 term. Lankford takes office on January 3, 2015, 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.139 and then goes on to secure his own reelection 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:52.200 in 2016 and 2022. Zooming out from these individual 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:54.820 resignations, there is a massive overarching 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:58.840 macro trend visible in the data. There is. We 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:01.500 started this deep dive looking at the early 1900s, 00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:03.980 observing an era completely saturated by Democrats. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:07.299 Names like Robert L. Owen, Thomas Gore, Elmer 00:15:07.299 --> 00:15:09.399 Thomas, and Mike Monroney controlling the seats 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:11.799 for decades. Well, when you scan down to the 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:14.539 modern era on this list, it is a stark, absolute 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:17.179 contrast. The later entries are exclusively Republican. 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:20.559 Don Nichols, Tom Coburn, and James Lankford dominate 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:24.279 Class 3. Dewey F. Bartlett, Jim Inhofe, and Mark 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:27.389 Wayne Mullen occupy Class 2. The entire color 00:15:27.389 --> 00:15:29.570 palette of the data table fundamentally flips 00:15:29.570 --> 00:15:31.690 from one side of the political spectrum to the 00:15:31.690 --> 00:15:34.210 other over the course of the century. That complete 00:15:34.210 --> 00:15:36.710 shift brings us directly to the current state 00:15:36.710 --> 00:15:39.730 of affairs as documented in our source. The source 00:15:39.730 --> 00:15:42.309 lists the current delegation ordered by seniority. 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:45.299 We have James Lankford serving since 2015 and 00:15:45.299 --> 00:15:47.919 Mark Wayne Mullen serving since 2023. Both are 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:50.779 Republicans. And interestingly, based on everything 00:15:50.779 --> 00:15:53.139 we just analyzed, both of the current sitting 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:55.980 senators initially entered the Senate specifically 00:15:55.980 --> 00:15:58.460 to clean up the timeline after a predecessor 00:15:58.460 --> 00:16:01.399 resigned midterm. It is a remarkable bit of historical 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:04.200 symmetry. It really is. The source document also 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:06.659 briefly pans out to give us the broader context 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:08.940 of Oklahoma's current representation in Washington. 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:11.759 Beyond the two Senate seats, the state's congressional 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.100 delegation includes five representatives in the 00:16:14.100 --> 00:16:16.580 House ordered by district. Running through those 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:18.960 names quickly, the state is represented by Kevin 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:22.559 Hearn, Josh Brecking, Frank Lucas, Tom Cole, 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:25.919 and Stephanie Bice. All five are listed as Republicans, 00:16:26.299 --> 00:16:28.600 perfectly aligning with the total party shift 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:31.100 we tracked in the modern Senate data set. That 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:34.100 broader House context firmly frames the state's 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:36.779 current political reality. Yes, it does. So what 00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:38.759 does this all mean? We look at this list today. 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:40.879 We see the current delegation of Lankford and 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:44.440 Mullen, and it projects an image. of solid stability 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:47.240 the seats are filled the party alignment is uniform 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:50.059 across both chambers right what it means is that 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:52.820 current stability is an illusion born out of 00:16:52.820 --> 00:16:55.379 past volatility the current arrangement only 00:16:55.379 --> 00:16:57.740 exists because of special elections triggered 00:16:57.740 --> 00:17:00.379 by sudden resignations just as previous eras 00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:03.039 were defined by sudden deaths 10 -year comebacks 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:06.039 and massive party shifts The mechanics of the 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:08.619 Senate dictate that the machine never stops moving. 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:11.259 The data set tells us the table is already set 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:13.599 for the next potential disruption, with the Class 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:16.339 2 election to be determined in 2026 and Class 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:20.440 3 in 2028. It is genuinely incredible how much 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:23.119 human history is packed into a single Wikipedia 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.740 page if you just take the time to calculate the 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:28.119 gaps and overlaps. It really is. We want to thank 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:29.920 you so much for going on this journey with us 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:33.009 through a century of political data. We started 00:17:33.009 --> 00:17:35.430 with what looked like a dry list of names and 00:17:35.430 --> 00:17:37.630 dates, but by paying attention to the margins, 00:17:37.829 --> 00:17:40.920 we uncovered massive resilience. Like Thomas 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:43.460 Gore bouncing back a decade later in a completely 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:45.799 different seat. We tracked the domino effect 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.460 of a single New Year's Day tragedy with Robert 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:51.160 S. Kerr, watching a carefully planned electoral 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:54.240 cycle collapse into years of appointments and 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:56.720 special elections. And we analyzed the modern 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.500 trend of massive power shifts driven entirely 00:17:59.500 --> 00:18:02.559 by personal decisions, like a senator resigning 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:05.059 to run a university. It has been an absolute 00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:07.480 blast digging through this data set with you. 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:09.880 This raises an important question, though, something 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:12.380 for you to ponder long after we sign off. OK, 00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:15.140 let's hear it. When we study history, we naturally 00:18:15.140 --> 00:18:17.900 focus on the names of the winners. We look at 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:20.839 who held the power and for how long. But when 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:22.920 you really read the footnotes of a list like 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:25.920 this, when you see all the tags for lost renomination, 00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:29.779 retired and resigned. it makes you wonder how 00:18:29.779 --> 00:18:32.579 much of history is actually shaped not by the 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:34.980 people who win the seats, but by the precise 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:38.299 timing of when and why they decide to leave them. 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:40.960 That is a phenomenal thought to leave on. Thank 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:42.720 you so much for joining us for this deep dive. 00:18:42.859 --> 00:18:44.759 We hope you enjoyed exploring the data as much 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:47.660 as we did. Stay curious, keep asking questions, 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:49.839 and keep exploring the hidden stories buried 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.579 inside everyday information. Until next time.