Robert Murphy (Oklahoma)
Robert Murphy (Libertarian Party) is running for election to the Oklahoma House of Representatives to represent District 45. He declared candidacy for the Libertarian Party primary scheduled on June 18, 2024.[source]
Biography
Robert Murphy was born in Detroit, Michigan. Murphy served in the United States Marine Corps from 1965 to 1968. His career experience includes working in installation and maintenance of security systems with the University of Oklahoma and as a telecom manager with IBM, a carpenter, a mechanic, and a data technician.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Oklahoma House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
The primary will occur on June 18, 2024. The general election will occur on November 5, 2024. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 45
Incumbent Annie Menz is running in the Democratic primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 45 on June 18, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Annie Menz | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 45
Matt Watson is running in the Republican primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 45 on June 18, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Matt Watson | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 45
Robert Murphy is running in the Libertarian primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 45 on June 18, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Robert Murphy | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2022
See also: United States Senate special election in Oklahoma, 2022
General election
Special general election for U.S. Senate Oklahoma
Markwayne Mullin defeated Kendra Horn, Robert Murphy, and Ray Woods in the special general election for U.S. Senate Oklahoma on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Markwayne Mullin (R) | 61.8 | 710,643 |
 | Kendra Horn (D) | 35.2 | 405,389 | |
| Robert Murphy (L) | 1.5 | 17,386 | |
 | Ray Woods (Independent) | 1.5 | 17,063 | |
| Total votes: 1,150,481 | |||
| = 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 U.S. Senate Oklahoma
Markwayne Mullin defeated T. W. Shannon in the special Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate Oklahoma on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Markwayne Mullin | 65.1 | 183,118 |
 | T. W. Shannon | 34.9 | 98,246 | |
| Total votes: 281,364 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Kendra Horn advanced from the special Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oklahoma.
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oklahoma
The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oklahoma on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Markwayne Mullin | 43.6 | 156,087 |
| ✔ | | T. W. Shannon | 17.5 | 62,746 |
 | Nathan Dahm | 11.9 | 42,673 | |
 | Luke Holland | 11.3 | 40,353 | |
 | Scott Pruitt | 5.0 | 18,052 | |
 | Randy Grellner | 4.4 | 15,794 | |
| Laura Moreno | 1.8 | 6,597 | |
 | Jessica Garrison | 1.7 | 6,114 | |
 | Alex Gray | 0.9 | 3,063 | |
| John Tompkins | 0.7 | 2,332 | |
 | Adam Holley | 0.5 | 1,873 | |
| Michael Coibion | 0.4 | 1,261 | |
| Paul Royse | 0.3 | 900 | |
| Total votes: 357,845 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Libertarian primary election
The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Robert Murphy advanced from the special Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Oklahoma.
2020
See also: United States Senate election in Oklahoma, 2020
United States Senate election in Oklahoma, 2020 (June 30 Democratic primary)
United States Senate election in Oklahoma, 2020 (June 30 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Oklahoma
Incumbent Jim Inhofe defeated Abby Broyles, Robert Murphy, Joan Farr, and April Nesbit in the general election for U.S. Senate Oklahoma on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jim Inhofe (R) | 62.9 | 979,140 |
 | Abby Broyles (D) | 32.8 | 509,763 | |
| Robert Murphy (L) | 2.2 | 34,435 | |
 | Joan Farr (Independent) | 1.4 | 21,652 | |
 | April Nesbit (Independent) | 0.7 | 11,371 | |
| Total votes: 1,556,361 | |||
| = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oklahoma
Abby Broyles defeated Elysabeth Britt, Sheila Bilyeu, and R.O. Joe Cassity in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oklahoma on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Abby Broyles | 60.4 | 163,921 |
 | Elysabeth Britt | 16.7 | 45,206 | |
| Sheila Bilyeu | 11.9 | 32,350 | |
| R.O. Joe Cassity | 11.0 | 29,698 | |
| Total votes: 271,175 | |||
| = 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
- Perry Williams (D)
- Paul Tay (D)
- Tyler Dougherty (D)
- Bevon Rogers (D)
- Mike Workman (D)
- Dylan Billings (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oklahoma
Incumbent Jim Inhofe defeated JJ Stitt, John Tompkins, and Neil Mavis in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oklahoma on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jim Inhofe | 74.1 | 277,868 |
 | JJ Stitt | 15.3 | 57,433 | |
| John Tompkins | 6.3 | 23,563 | |
 | Neil Mavis | 4.4 | 16,363 | |
| Total votes: 375,227 | |||
| = 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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2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated Oklahoma's U.S. Senate race as safely Republican. Incumbent James Lankford (R) defeated Mike Workman (D), Robert Murphy (L), Sean Braddy (I), and Mark Beard (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Lankford and Workman faced no primary opposition, while Murphy defeated Dax Ewbank to win the Libertarian nomination. The primary elections took place on June 28, 2016.[2][3][4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  James Lankford Incumbent |
67.7% | 980,892 | |
| Democratic | Mike Workman | 24.6% | 355,911 | |
| Libertarian | Robert Murphy | 3% | 43,421 | |
| Independent | Sean Braddy | 2.8% | 40,405 | |
| Independent | Mark Beard | 1.9% | 27,418 | |
| Total Votes | 1,448,047 | |||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Robert Murphy |
58.8% | 1,539 | ||
| Dax Ewbank | 41.2% | 1,077 | ||
| Total Votes | 2,616 | |||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board |
||||
2014
Murphy ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Oklahoma's 5th District. He lost to Steve Russell (R) in the general election.[5] The general election took place on November 4, 2014.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Russell |
60.1% | 95,632 | |
| Democratic | Al McAffrey | 36.3% | 57,790 | |
| Independent | Buddy Ray | 0.9% | 1,470 | |
| Independent | Tom Boggs | 1.3% | 2,065 | |
| Independent | Robert Murphy | 1.4% | 2,176 | |
| Total Votes | 159,133 | |||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board | ||||
2012
Murphy was defeated by incumbent James Lankford.[7] Murphy ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Oklahoma's 5th District. He sought the nomination on the Libertarian ticket. The general election took place on November 6, 2012.[8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tom Guild | 37.3% | 97,504 | |
| Republican | James Lankford Incumbent |
58.7% | 153,603 | |
| Independent | Pat Martin | 2.1% | 5,394 | |
| Libertarian | Robert T. Murphy | 2% | 5,176 | |
| Total Votes | 261,677 | |||
| Source: Oklahoma Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2022
Robert Murphy did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Robert Murphy completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Murphy's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I am a Marine Vietnam veteran dedicated to the American ideal of individual liberty.
- We must reign in our banking system and return to stable money based on silver and gold.
- We must end all our foreign wars and develop a non-interventionist foreign policy.
- We must end Corporate monopoly practices in medical care and drug manufacture, and have a free market for medical care.
Monetary policy, foreign policy, and medical care.
My Father, William Murphy 1904-1979. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in a working class family. He apprenticed as an iron-molder for the Harland and Wolff shipyard. His brothers trained as a pattern-maker, machinist, tool-and-die maker, and engineer. In 1928, he and one brother arrived in Detroit, Michigan. The plan was to bring the whole family there to start a car company. Before that could happen, the Great Depression took place, and there was no money for travel. So there's no Murphy Motor cars.
My Dad was hard-working and plain-spoken, and though he never finished high school he knew a lot about people. He was skeptical of authority and cautious in his business. He carried himself with dignity and always treated others with respect. He is an example of a life well lived.
The film Seven Days in May brilliantly illustrates the dangers of nuclear weapons and a rogue general. Dr. Strangelove follows that theme with black comedy. Full Metal Jacket shows the best rendition of Marine Boot Camp I've seen.
As for essays, I would recommend anything by Murray Rothbard - particularly his Anatomy of the State. Also, essays by Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, Mark Twain, and Christopher Hitchens hint at the sources of my iconoclasm.
Books are harder. I've read everything by Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, Victor Hugo, Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov, and Colin Wilson, as well as many others, so it's hard to decide.
For political philosophy I would recommend The Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers, and The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn. For the big picture people should read The Criminal History of Mankind by Colin Wilson, as well as The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius and the histories of Ibn Khaldun.
For contemporary fiction, I have enjoyed the works of Neal Stephenson - particularly his Baroque Trilogy. Neil Gaiman is entertaining. Bernard Cornwell has tales of adventure and courage, and G.M. Fraser's Flashman series is a hoot.
Of course we can't omit the books and essays by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, required reading in every high school class in the '60s.
I suppose I'm an idealist that thinks it possible to build institutions that will reduce human violence, iniquity, and predatory behavior. I only hope it's true. I fear for my species.
Integrity, honesty, and a commitment to unprejudiced justice. Also, an immunity to bribery.
I'm trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind,obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. I learned these virtues in the Boy Scouts, and I'm sticking with them.
I have enough knowledge of law to have won a decision in Federal Court as a Pro-Se litigant.
I have read extensively about law, politics, war, and the human experience, and the knowledge gained by those readings makes me hope that human freedom is not forever doomed to oppression.
I have experienced real war in Vietnam, and that experience has made me despise those many geopolitical game-players who treat human lives as pawns on a chessboard.
I'm as lazy as anyone, but on the off chance that I should win this election, I would load myself with Adderall and recruit a staff from the Mises Institute, the Cato Institute, and other Libertarians, and devise a plan to dismantle the Corporate State, emasculate the Oligarchs, and build institutions that will reduce the initiation of force in human interaction.
To restore the American ideal of individual liberty for all; to work to dismantle the legal tools used by the Corporate State to maintain the privileges of the Oligarchs; to end the military and CIA interference with other nations.
I already have a legacy, in the form of a novel and a short story under the pseudonym R.R. McGregor, available on Amazon. I have other stories in progress about Vietnam, my marriages, and my youth in Detroit which I hope to complete if my election to the senate doesn't interfere.
The assassination of J.F. Kennedy. I was 15.
Paperboy for Detroit News 1960-1964
After completing with Dr. Suess (I enjoyed Horten Hears a Who and Green Eggs and Ham, but refused to read The Cat in the Hat because it seemed too silly), I ventured into books with text without pictures. Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was enjoyable, since I had recently seen the Disney movie with Kirk Douglas.
But my favorite book of all time that I picked next from the shelf of the Noble Elementary School library was Have Space Suit - Will Travel by Robert Heinlein. It is a tale of a young man who wins a space suit in a contest, makes it work, and then is propelled into adventures in interplanetary and even intergalactic space. It is a tale of competence, reason, courage, and sacrifice in the face of space monsters and intergalactic police.
After all this time, it is still my favorite of Heinlein's work.
Donald Trump, as President. He is fictional, isn't he? Please tell me it's so...
Brad Paisley's Low Life- High Life comes to mind, as well as Junior Brown's rendition of My Wife Thinks You're Dead.
Then there's the Motown sound of My Girl, and Tears of a Clown.
And of course I love Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, an homage to commercial life in a free American city.
What hasn't been a struggle? Standing guard in 100 degree weather? Stooping into the steaming engine room of an Amtrac to repair a fractured coolant line? Shuffling back along joists hauling 1 1/4 inch 4X8 boards into 2nd floor positions to be nailed in place? Mounting a 16-foot beam 20 feet above a concrete floor? Finding a job? Crying inconsolably broken-hearted at the death of a parent, or the loss of a love?
The biggest struggles, of course, have been those that have plagued humankind from the beginning - laziness and boredom.
Our primary challenge will be to survive as a free nation despite the willingness of too many to welcome the illusory comforts of a totalitarian state.
Too many think of the State as a benevolent institution composed of competent and unprejudiced people acting always in the public interest. James Buchanan won a Nobel prize for showing that the opposite is true. People don't magically shed their prejudices when elected or appointed to positions of authority.
A couple of Princeton professors did a study of 1779 policy issues over about 30 years, all opposed by public opinion. It turns out that 1776 of them were implemented despite public opposition because they were supported by Corporate and bureaucratic elites. The conclusion is that we are living not in a Democracy, but an Oligarchy. Former President Jimmy Carter recently publicly confirmed this.
Totalitarian states grow by inspiring fear in the people. After 9-11, the great fear was of Islamic terrorism. It justified a vast increase in the power of government to spy on the American people, recording every phone call, Facebook post, and website visit. It also led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands Afghani and Iraqis who apparently had no part in that attack.
Today the great fear is Covid-19, a possibly-manufactured corona virus that is no more dangerous to the young and healthy than the seasonal flu. Yet it has been used to justify an unprecedented global shutdown of economic, educational, social, and religious activity. It's not a coincidence that this has happened just as the frailty of our economic system was being revealed. I cannot help but think that this has been influenced heavily by the Oligarchs to reset the economic system in their favor. The daily news is filled with fear inspiring stories, and cheap and available cures are being suppressed in favor of expensive drugs. the evidence of Oligarch influence is everywhere, and to many people are believing the propaganda.
The advice and consent of the Senate is required to confirm the appointment of Cabinet Officers, Judges, and other executive positions, as well as the ratification of Treaties. It is limited in size, which makes the vote of each more influential than those in the House of Representatives.
It depends on what the senator learned from that previous experience.
If a senator with a dedication to justice and upholding individual rights learns about the individuals involved in decision-making and the subtleties of parliamentary procedure, then that could be beneficial.
However, if a senator has learned from previous experience how to trade influence for campaign donations, manipulate facts to gain votes, or to lie and cheat to ensure reelection, then that experience would not be beneficial.
My service on the Libertarian National Committee has taught me much about parliamentary procedure, as well as the organization of committees and sub-committees. I have no influence to sell, and I flatter myself to think that I can speak persuasively in debate.
I have mixed feelings about it. I would gladly filibuster against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but not the Voting Rights Act. Since it is a rule of the senate that can be changed by the senate, most senators evidently think it has value.
A history that illustrates integrity, a dedication to justice without prejudice, and a firm commitment to individual rights. Also, they should have displayed the potential for competence in the job to which they're being appointed.
Amiable relationships are always important when seeking to persuade others.
Yes - the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Justice Committee
If elected, I would like to be the Libertarian Whip, ensuring that other Libertarian senators adhered to our party's mission - to reduce, as much as humanly possible, the initiation of force in human relationships.
I'm sure there are some who are worthy, but I can't think of one.
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Campaign finance summary
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 17, 2020
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "CANDIDATES FOR STATE ELECTIVE OFFICE 2016," accessed April 16, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Oklahoma Senate Races Results," June 28, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "2014 Oklahoma House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedok - ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Oklahoma"
- ↑ Oklahoma Secretary of State, "Primary Candidate List," accessed April 13, 2012
