Republican Sen. Tom Coburn Reelected to U.S. Senate

Staff and Wire Reports

OKLAGHOMA CITY --  Republican U.S. Senator Tom Coburn has been reelected to a second term in the U.S. Senate with 72.3 percent of the vote.

Coburn defeated Democratic candidate Jim Rogers and Independent candidates Stephen Wallace and Ronald Dwyer.

Coburn said he sought a final term in the U.S. Senate to "continue to uphold and defend the Constitution and work to fight wasteful government spending, hold career politicians and bureaucrats accountable to the American people, and restore the vision of limited government envisioned by our country's founders."

Coburn rode a Republican wave into the U.S. House in 1994, then served six years in Congress before returning to his medical practice. He has described himself as a "part-time lawmaker" and has promised to serve only two terms in the Senate.

Known as a conservative maverick, Coburn has been most vocal in opposing the earmarking of special projects, and he is among the few members of the Senate who do not seek such projects for their state.