Congressman Hern Discusses Future Political Plans During Summer Recess

Oklahoma Congressman Kevin Hern is back in Tulsa for summer recess.

He talked with News On 6’s Jonathan Cooper about what he's working on in Washington and is also addressing talk that he may run for governor in 2026.

Congressman Kevin Hern says his focus right now is on winning his reelection bid in November and for Republicans to take the White House and Senate. But he says he would look at running for Governor in 2 years.

Gov. Kevin Stitt is term-limited, and several state lawmakers have expressed interest in running in 2026.

Hern says many people across Oklahoma have asked him if he would consider running.

He says he would only make that decision after talking with God and his wife, who encouraged him to first run for Congress in 2017.

“Ultimately, it’s whether or not people across Oklahoma want another business guy named Kevin at 23rd and Lincoln, somebody that’s from the east side of the state, someone that's been in business their entire life. Someone that understands the coequal branches of government. If all those things line up, then we'll see what happens come next year.”

Hern will return to Washington next month.

He says right now, he's focusing on the amount of fentanyl coming into Oklahoma from the southern border, and Congress needs to do a better job of protecting it.

He says he is also raising awareness about the necessity of extending the tax cuts first implemented in 2017 to help Oklahoma families cope with inflation.