Markwayne Mullin | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 2nd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Boren |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mark Wayne Mullin[1] July 26, 1977 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Nationality | United States Cherokee Nation |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Christie Rowan (m. 1997) |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (AA) |
| Website | House website |
Mark Wayne "Markwayne" Mullin (born July 26, 1977) is an American politician, businessman, and former professional mixed martial arts fighter serving as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. Mullin's district covers about a quarter of Eastern Oklahoma. He is a candidate in the 2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma.
Mullin was born on July 26, 1977, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[2] He graduated from Stilwell High School in Stilwell, Oklahoma.[3] He attended Missouri Valley College in 1996, but did not graduate.[2] In 2010, Mullin received an associate degree in construction technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.[2][4]
Mullin took over his family's business, Mullin Plumbing, at age 20, when his father fell ill. He also owns Mullin Properties, Mullin Farms, and Mullin Services.[5] He hosted House Talk, a home improvement radio program syndicated across Oklahoma, on Tulsa station KFAQ.[2][6]
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See also: List of Native Americans in the United States Congress |
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See also: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma § District 2 |
In June 2011, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Dan Boren announced that he would retire at the end of 2012.[7] In September 2011, Mullin declared his candidacy for the 2012 elections to the United States House of Representatives to represent Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district.[8] Mullin branded himself as an outsider; his campaign slogan was "A rancher. A businessman. Not a politician!"[9]
In the six-candidate Republican primary, Mullin finished first with 42% of the vote; state representative George Faught ranked second with 22% of the vote.[10] In the runoff primary election, Mullin defeated Faught 57%–43%.[11][12]
The 2nd District has historically been a classic "Yellow Dog" Democratic district, but has steadily trended Republican as Tulsa's suburbs have spilled into its northern portion. For this reason, Mullin was thought to have a good chance of winning the election. He defeated the Democratic nominee, former district attorney Rob Wallace, 57%–38%,[13] becoming the first Republican to represent the district since Tom Coburn in 2001,[14] and only the second since 1921.
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See also: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma § District 2 |
In the June 2016 Republican primary, Mullin defeated Jarrin Jackson by 27 percentage points. In the November general election, he defeated Democrat Joshua Harris-Till by 47 percentage points.[15]
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See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma § District 2 |
When he first ran for Congress in 2012, Mullin promised to serve only three terms (six years), but in July 2017 he released a video announcing that he would run for a fourth term in 2018, saying he was ill-advised when he made the promise to only serve three terms.[16] After he reneged on this promise, former U.S senator Tom Coburn said he would work to oust Mullin from office.[15] Mullin won a four-way Republican primary with 54.1% of the vote, and was reelected in November with 65% of the vote.
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See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma § District 2 |
In 2020, Mullin won the Republican primary with 79.9% of the vote, and was reelected in November with 75% of the vote.
On February 5, 2014, Mullin introduced the bill To revoke the charter of incorporation of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma at the request of that tribe (H.R. 4002; 113th Congress), which would accept the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma's request to revoke the charter of incorporation issued to it and ratified by its members on June 1, 1940.[17]
In 2015, Mullin condemned the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution.[18]
In April 2017, Mullin drew criticism when he was recorded during a town hall meeting telling his constituents that it was "bullcrap" that taxpayers pay his salary. He said, "I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go."[19]
In December 2020, Mullin was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump.[20] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[21][22][23]
During the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Mullin, along with Texas representatives Troy Nehls (a former Sheriff and Army veteran) and Pat Fallon (an Air Force veteran) helped U.S. Capitol Police build barricades and protect the doors to the House chamber from the rioters. He and many of his colleagues were later ushered to a secure location, where he declined offers to wear a mask, in violation of House rules.[24][25] Mullin said that he witnessed the shooting of Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt during the attack, which occurred after she climbed through a barricade leading towards the House Chamber; Mullin's opinion was that the Capitol police officer "didn't have a choice" but to shoot, and that this action "saved people's lives", with members of Congress and their staff "in danger" from the "mob".[26][27][28]
In 2021, Mullin was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.[29] This bill expanded legal protections for transgender people, and contained provisions allowing transgender women to use women's shelters and serve time in prisons matching their gender identity.[30]
Mullin, along with all other Senate and House Republicans, voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[31]
On August 30, 2021, during the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mullin asked officials of the U.S. embassy in Tajikistan for assistance in going to Afghanistan to retrieve five American citizens. Because the plan involved violations of Tajikistan currency restrictions, the embassy staffers refused. The U.S. State Department had warned Mullin not to try his own rescue of Americans in Afghanistan, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy had both urged members of Congress to avoid travel to Afghanistan during the final days of the U.S. military presence.[32]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 3 matches | 3 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 3–0 | Clinton Bonds | TKO (punches) | XFL | April 7, 2007 | 2 | 1:27 | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Clinton Bonds | Submission (armbar) | XFL Superbrawl | February 3, 2007 | 2 | N/A | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Bobby Kelley | Submission (rear-naked choke) | XFL | November 11, 2006 | 1 | 0:46 | Miami, Oklahoma, United States |
Mullin and his wife, Christie, live in Westville, a few miles from the Arkansas border, and have six children.[2] He is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation.[36] Mullin is one of four Native Americans in the 117th Congress. The others are Tom Cole of Oklahoma (Chickasaw Nation),[37] Yvette Herrell of New Mexico (Cherokee Nation),[38] and Sharice Davids of Kansas (Ho-Chunk Nation). Deb Haaland of New Mexico (Laguna Pueblo) was the fifth[39] until she resigned in March 2021 to become Secretary of the Interior, returning the number of Native Americans in Congress to four.
