'Community Conversations:' Sen. Markwayne Mulling Visits Constituents Across Oklahoma

Congress's August recess is beginning to wind down and members will soon be headed back to the nation's capital. Some in the Oklahoma delegation are using the time they have left at home to visit with constituents and hear about concerns.

Oklahoma has some large House districts, but its senators, of course, represent the entire state, which is why Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) was about as far away from his home as he could be today for a series of what he calls 'community conversations.'

“They're interesting,” Mullin said in an interview Wednesday, “because the eastern side of the state is much different where I live, much different from the western side of the state.”

As an example, Mullin says he learned cow-calf operations in western Oklahoma need more land than in the eastern part of the state.

“I know this sounds crazy, but you can run one cow per 4 or 5 acres of cleared land (in Eastern Oklahoma),” Mullin said. “Over here, it's 12 to 14 acres per cow. And those are unique challenges on their own because it makes it difficult to stay in business.”

Farming and ranching were major topics of interest at the four stops Mullin made Wednesday in Elk City, Mangum, Hollis, and Cheyenne. But Mullin says he likes to talk with constituents about the national debt and the appropriations process. He says it is broken, in part because discretionary spending — the spending that Congress can control — now makes up barely a quarter of total spending.

“And then we talk about how much the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) takes up and that no one wants to cut defense spending, which I agree with that,” Mullin said. “But it's hard to balance the budget of the 11 appropriation bills.”

Mullin says the people who attend these meetings also typically want to talk politics. He says a lot of them are concerned about election security.

“And I tell people that I feel confident about the election moving forward,” Mullin said, “I feel confident about the way the election will be handled. I can't guarantee the results, though, and the American people are going to make that decision.”

And Sen. Mullin isn't done with these 'conversations', he has four more scheduled for Thursday in northwest Oklahoma:

DATE: Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024

TIME: 9:30 a.m. CT

LOCATION: The Palmer Place, 108 E Cherokee St., Medford, OK 73759

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DATE: Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024

TIME: 11:15 a.m. CT

LOCATION: City Hall, Council Room, 112 N Grand Ave., Cherokee, OK 73728

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DATE: Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024

TIME: 1:15 p.m. CT

LOCATION: Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Ranger Room (located in the student center), 709 Oklahoma Blvd., Alva, OK 73717

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DATE: Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024

TIME: 3:30 p.m. CT

LOCATION: Fairview Community Center, 206 E Broadway, Fairview, OK 73737