Your Vote Counts: Reflections On Wins, Losses In Oklahoma Politics, And What’s Ahead In 2025

On Sunday's Your Vote Counts, political analyst Scott Mitchell joined state leaders Jon Echols and Jason Dunnington to reflect on 2024's political milestones and share their predictions for 2025.

From the grocery sales tax exemption to the impact of national elections, the panel discussed what shaped Oklahoma and the nation this year.

Best Moments of 2024: A Year of Political Milestones

Reflecting on the year’s achievements, Jason Dunnington highlighted the elimination of the state grocery sales tax as a significant win for Oklahoma families.

“The legislature passing the exemption of sales tax on groceries here in the state of Oklahoma… I think that was a huge thing for the people of Oklahoma,” Dunnington said. “It’s something that the legislature tried to do literally for a decade and couldn’t get done. It finally got done in 2024.”

Jon Echols also commended the achievement but emphasized national political shifts as the year’s highlight.

“I think the best was the election of President Trump, the Republican sweep in the House and the Senate, showing that the conservative ideology matters… and showing that now we have an opportunity to move forward with economic growth inside the country,” Echols said.

Challenges Persist: Culture Wars and Political Integrity

The panelists agreed that 2024 wasn’t without its setbacks. Echols criticized the Democratic Party’s nomination process as a low point.

“For the first time since the ’40s, we had a complete sham of a nominee on the Democrat side,” Echols said. “Not a single person voted for Vice President Harris to be the Democrat nominee… It’s very scary.”

Dunnington pointed to cultural divisions as a major concern.

“Culture wars are ruining our country,” he said. “We have to get beyond… a period where half of us are right and half of us are wrong all of the time and then using that to drive wedges amongst people in their communities, people in churches together, even families at their dinner tables.”

The Biggest Story of 2024

The re-election of President Donald Trump dominated the conversation as the defining event of the year.

“There’s a reason he’s Time Man of the Year,” Echols said. “We really saw a shift happen in 2024—going back to understanding… the party of the working man.”

Dunnington agreed, adding that the collapse of President Biden’s term further shaped the political narrative.

“What a mess that was this summer,” he said. “But yeah, easily in 2024, the biggest story is Donald Trump becoming president of the United States again.”

Looking Ahead: Predictions for 2025

When asked about the coming year, Dunnington warned of a potential conflict between two dominant political figures.

“I think the biggest story in 2025 is going to be the coming rift between President Elon Musk and President Donald Trump,” Dunnington predicted. “You can’t have two egos that are that big and not have them collide.”

Echols, however, emphasized the need for Republicans to deliver on their campaign promises.

“They need to deliver on lowering inflation, lowering prices, shutting down the border, and supporting law enforcement,” he said. “Locally, I’ll give you the story that nobody’s thinking about: starting in about six months, it’s going to be what happens with all our statewide elected officials. They’re all going to be term-limited.”