OKMULGEE, Okla. – On July 17-19 the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Election Board set up candidate filing in the Housing Building conference room. This is where citizens filed for office, including Principal Chief, Second Chief, and National Council Representative Seat A for all districts.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Election Office Facebook page released an official roster on July 26. The contestation period closed July 21.
Running for Principal Chief is current MCN Principal Chief David Hill, Tim Good Voice, Lahoma (Hicks) Shultz, and Joseph T. Rogers. Mr. Good Voice previously ran against Hill in the 2019 Principal Chief race, garnering 4.94% of the vote, which was not enough for him to proceed to the general election.
Second Chief candidates include current Second Chief Del Beaver and current National Council Representative Sandra Golden. Golden is currently half way through her four year Okfuskee District Seat B term. If she wins the race a special election will have to be held to elect her successor.
Incumbent Joseph Hicks will face off against Leney Joe McNac Jr. and Dode Barnett. Barnett previously ran against Hicks in the 2019 election, where she garnered 29% of the vote. This was not enough to progress beyond the primary.
Judith Pickering will face incumbent Darrell Proctor in McIntosh District.
Incumbent William Lowe will see two challengers in his primary, James Jennings and Robyn Whitecloud. Jennings had previously held the Okmulgee Seat B. In the 2021 election he was defeated by Nelson Harjo Sr.
Uncontested districts include Muskogee with incumbent Mary Crawford, Okfuskee with incumbent Randall Hicks, Tulsa with incumbent Robert Hufft, Tukvpvtce with incumbent Anna Marshall, and Wagoner/Rogers/Mayes with incumbent Charles Son McHenry.
Mvskoke Media was on scene at the candidate filing each day.
Voter Registration
The primary election will be held on September 16 at designated precinct polling sites housed at each community center. There are a total of 18 sites. Early voting will be held September 13-14 at four community centers, including Okmulgee, Okemah, Eufaula and Tulsa.
Voters can update their profiles or register on the MCN Camphouse Portal.
Absentee ballots can be requested as well. Requests were mailed by the election office earlier in the year. Paid postage is due by August 23 for the primary election.
The total number of registered voters for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is 18,027 as of July 1. According to election data from 2019, only 5,092 voters participated in the general election from that year. Of that number, 3,438 resided within the Muscogee jurisdiction boundaries.
