Opinion: The Grand Old Party of Abraham Lincoln rebuilds itself every two years. Tuesday January 24th at 6 pm that process begins in Tulsa County.
New Republican leadership is needed at the County, State and National levels. Recently, power accumulation has been the goal and building the precincts the great failure. Convention attendance is shrinking. When conservatives should be most united in the face of multiple crises instigated by demon Democrats, Republicans have been divided by feckless personal ambition.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has run the party since 2017, but this cycle’s challengers are significant. Harmeet Dhillon, a prominent national attorney and Republican committeewoman and Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow have announced candidacy. Many favor Dhillon as it appears the GOP must often fight Democrats in court.
Grassroot activists are cheering A.B.R. (Anyone But Ronna). Dhillon has led legal action for Republicans nationwide and Lindell has contributed significant resources to challenging questionable voting shenanigans nationwide. Many assert either would be better than the repeated failures McDaniel has orchestrated.
In Tulsa County, the last convention was a disaster with the personality cult of Ronda Voldemort (sp?) Smith running roughshod over long-standing protocols (click here for more). Smith has used her office to select candidates in primaries – thus causing division among rank-and-file Republicans. Smith has favored some Republican Clubs and attacked others that may not have goosestepped to her every dictate. She has limited Executive Committee participation and failed to hold regular County Committee Meetings – again showing the management style of Marxist Democrats.
When a candidate for county office was accused in a primary contest of felony ballot harvesting (click here for more), Smith allowed the candidate to pitch his defense on local media in the Tulsa County GOP headquarters office in an obvious effort to wrap that asserted criminal action in the Republican brand. That candidate’s primary effort failed by nearly 60 percent of the Republican vote. Said another way, local leadership represents less than 40 percent of registered Tulsa County Republican voters.
Late in 2022, a potential candidate for a 2024 election visited the Tulsa County Republican Headquarters and asked at the front desk what help and resources were available for the race. Chairwoman Ronda came from her back office to the front declaring that the GOP had a candidate already selected. That discouraged potential public participation in the election process contrary to the spirit if not specific rules of the Republican Party.
Precinct Meetings are neighborhood gatherings, but according to Ronda’s decrees, elected Precinct Officials will be under the control of a “meeting facilitator” selected by Ronda in meetings organized mostly with multiple precincts by Oklahoma House District. These meetings were separate and long organized and conducted by each Precinct Chair – Ronda has not even reached out to the current elected Chairs or Vice Chairs as she apparently endeavors to build a party of minions.
Announced Tulsa County meetings by Oklahoma House District
House Districts 9, 11 & 74, New Life Church, 12215 N Garnett Rd, Collinsville 74021
House Districts 16 & 24, New Beginnings Church, 4104 E. 151st St S, Bixby 74008
House Districts 72 & 73, Central Library – Greadington Center, 400 Civic Center, 74103
House Districts 77 & 78, Memorial Drive United Methodist 7903 E 15th St., 74112
House Districts 29 & 66, Charles Page Library, 551 E. 4th St, Sand Springs 74063
House Districts 30 & 68, Heartland Church, 4506 S. Vancouver Ave, Tulsa 74107
House District 71, Spirit Life Church – Life Cafe, 5345 S. Peoria Ave, Tulsa 74105
House District 70, The Embassy Church, 7100 E. 31st St, Tulsa 74145
House District 79, Lafortune Community Center, 5202 S. Hudson Ave, Tulsa 74135
House Districts 23 & 75, Battle Creek Clubhouse, 3200 N Battlecreek, B.A. 74012
House Districts 76 & 98, Waters Edge Event Center, 3304 S. Elm Pl, B.A. 74011
House District 69, Christ Church Episcopal, 10901 S. Yale Ave, Tulsa 74137
House District 67, TCC Southeast – Student Union, Bld. 9, 10300 E. 81st St, Tulsa 74133
House District 80, Evergreen Baptist Church, 10301 E. 111th St, Bixby 74008
Don’t know your House District and/or Precinct number – find them here
If you are unable to attend the scheduled precinct meetings but would like to attend the County and/or State Convention, you may email tulsarepublicanparty@gmail.com. A Precinct Member Data Sheet should be sent to you to complete and return, but this administration is known for it’s lack of response, so if you don’t hear back in a few days, call the office at 918-627-5702. Deadline to receive completed forms is Tuesday, January 31 at 3:00 pm.
For those that engage, opportunities to impact the party are meaningful. At the precinct meetings, you can submit resolutions to change County and State Party Platform and Rules, including those that govern conventions. The County and State will elect leadership at each Convention. The Tulsa GOP County convention will be held March 25, 2023 and the OKGOP State Convention, is scheduled May 5th & 6th.
All patriots of good intention are welcomed and encouraged to bring their diverse perspectives together at this critical time to communicate and activate to grow the party the way Abraham Lincoln taught in the beginning, bringing courageous, honorable, independent voices of good heart together.
Editor’s Note: This article was first published on Straight Up on Substack. Subscriptions provide the latest news delivered as it is breaking. Both free and paid subscriptions are available. Paid subscriptions support local journalism by this author and others on Tulsa Today.