Sixth-Generation Farmer Dillon Travis Seeks House District 35 Seat

The Farmer and Businessman

Dillon Travis, a sixth-generation Oklahoma farmer and rancher from Maramec, won the Republican nomination for House District 35 on Jan. 14, defeating former Pawnee County Sheriff Mike Waters with 78.28 percent of the vote in a special election runoff.

Travis, who operates a family farm and ranch in Pawnee County, also owns Southern Plains Ag Co., a chemical, seed and fertilizer business serving customers across Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and parts of Texas. He started the business about 10 years ago to save ag producers money on inputs.

"I saw a need where farmers and ranchers and a lot of ag producers, they didn't have a whole lot of options on where they were getting their chemicals," Travis said at a campaign event in Perry. "My whole deal was that we built that business to save the producers money."

Travis and his wife Kaylee are raising a daughter who is approaching age 4. The couple recently expanded Southern Plains Ag by purchasing a warehouse in Cleveland.

Travis stepped into farming full-time after losing his father, who had worked in both agriculture and oil and gas construction. He bought his father's share of the farm from the estate with the goal of passing it to the next generation.

"I am a sixth generation Oklahoman and a sixth generation farmer and rancher," Travis said. "My goal is to always have to pass that farm on to the next generation so that my daughter can be the seventh generation."

Travis attended Drumright CareerTech for diesel mechanics, skills he uses daily on the farm. He has traveled to Africa to study agricultural practices and served on the American Farmers and Ranchers policy board in 2021 and 2022. He serves on the county NRCS board.

Meet the opponent

Luke Kruse Profile: HD 35 Democratic Candidate 2026

Kruse, 40, centers campaign on education reform, social services and infrastructure improvements in challenge to GOP nominee Dillon Travis

THE STILLWEGIANChris Peters

Policy Priorities

Education

Travis has made education reform a central campaign issue, advocating for Oklahoma to implement Mississippi's 2015 approach that moved that state from 50th to the top 10 nationally in reading scores.

"Mississippi and Oklahoma passed that law at the same time, 2015," Travis said. "Mississippi used to be 50th, and the joke was, well, at least we're not last, but now we are, and now Mississippi's in top 10. Can you imagine where Oklahoma would be if we would just stuck with the plan?"

He emphasized the need to consult with educators on the front lines.

"These teachers, these principals, these superintendents, they're on the front lines," Travis said. "I feel like we need to go to them to what their problem is. What do you need help with?"

Travis strongly opposes what he calls "woke curriculum" and gender identity instruction in schools.

"We should never have to send our kids to school and worry about them being taught what gender they are," Travis said. "Teachers don't need to be teaching that in our schools. Politics don't need to be in schools."

He is a strong supporter of CareerTech programs, citing his own experience at Drumright CareerTech.

"I took diesel mechanics in high school. That's something I use every day, you know, being on the farm," Travis said. "CareerTech is a huge, huge benefit to Oklahoma. College isn't for everybody."

He advocates for strengthening CareerTech as a workforce solution, noting shortages in trades like plumbing, carpentry, welding and diesel mechanics.

Agricultural Protection

Travis strongly opposes foreign ownership of Oklahoma farmland, citing personal experience with neighboring land that was "destroyed" after foreign nationals purchased it for marijuana cultivation.

"I've got some land up the road that was a wonderful piece of property, and in six months it was destroyed," Travis said at an event in Oak Grove. "Some people, some foreign nationalists, decided to buy it and turn it into a pot farm. And now you can't even tell that property what it was."

He frames agricultural protection as a national security issue.

"I never want America to have to worry about where its food is coming from," Travis said. "Oklahoma and America always need to be self-sufficient in agriculture. If we get rid of our agriculture in America, it's going to be a bad day."

Travis emphasized that farming has become increasingly challenging with high input costs and fluctuating commodity prices.

"It is, you work every day for just a little bit of money," Travis said. "I always want to stand up for agriculture."

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Rural Infrastructure

Poor road conditions in Pawnee and Noble counties represent a significant concern for Travis, who said the costs affect both school districts and agricultural operations.

"Pawnee County's roads are pretty hard to drive down sometimes," Travis said. "We spend a lot of money on repairs on our feed trucks just going down county roads."

Rather than raising taxes, Travis pledges to eliminate government waste and redirect funding to rural counties.

"I want to find the money anywhere but the taxpayers," Travis said. "Taxpayers pay enough. There's a lot of government waste to be cut."

Travis clarified his support for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, where he serves on the county board.

"I support cutting government waste, but I do not support cuts to NRCS in any way," Travis said. "NRCS is a wonderful program that helps agricultural producers with conservation efforts."

Energy Policy

Travis opposes tax subsidies for wind energy and data centers, arguing these operations should be self-sustaining without taxpayer support.

"I don't think windmills should be, us as taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for that," Travis said when asked about wind farms. "I think if we take away the tax subsidies that these companies are getting with them, I think the windmills will stop."

He strongly supports natural gas development instead.

"We've got enough natural gas to power all of our power plants," Travis said. "Oklahoma doesn't need wind or solar. We've got plenty of natural gas. Oil and gas is what made this state. Agriculture and oil and gas."

On data centers, Travis expressed concerns about their impact on communities.

"These big companies that are putting these data centers in, they don't need tax incentives," Travis said. "I was reading an article the other day about a data center in Georgia, and it was affecting the drinking water of the town. And the noise of those data centers are causing health effects."

He noted that data centers promise employment that rarely justifies the tax incentives.

"The employment that they hire will never pay for the tax incentives they're getting," Travis said. "The people of Oklahoma are getting the shaft on the deal."

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Property Rights

While opposing wind energy subsidies, Travis supports individual landowner rights to make decisions about their property.

"If my neighbor wants to put them on, that's his choice. That's his property," Travis said regarding wind turbines. "I don't want them on my property. If my neighbor wants to put them on, that's his choice."

He noted recent legislation establishing setback requirements to protect neighboring property owners from potential hazards.

Building a Coalition

Travis won the Republican nomination after a competitive five-candidate primary where he finished first with 30.41 percent of the vote, followed by Mike Waters at 21 percent. The close primary results meant Travis had to consolidate support from voters who initially backed eliminated candidates James Winn, Kevin Wright and Amber Roberts.

In the runoff, Travis won decisively across all five counties in the district, including Pawnee County where Waters had served as Sheriff. The geographic sweep demonstrated Travis's ability to build support beyond his home base.

"You find out who your friends are when you run for public office," Travis said at his campaign kickoff event. "I'm very fortunate."

Travis emphasized his commitment to working collaboratively at the state Capitol.

"I want to work with people. I want to get stuff done," Travis said. "You don't get a lot done when you're fighting people all the time. Working as a team, you guys can do mountains."

Campaign Approach

Travis's campaign was funded through a broad coalition of individual donors and agricultural organizations with which he has long-standing relationships.

"It's a broad range of people, ranging from friends, family, neighbors, a lot of people in the district, some people that live outside the district that support what I'm doing," Travis said. "Different people that are just rural Oklahomans that I've done business with over the years that really want to see me succeed."

He acknowledged receiving support from agricultural groups where he has served on policy boards.

"All of them, all of the groups that have helped me with my campaign are groups that they listen to their members," Travis said.

The campaign emphasized door-to-door voter contact in the short special election timeline.

"We've knocked over 800 doors in the last three weeks, and we're hoping to knock over another 1,000 or 1,500 by the end of the election," Travis said before the December primary.

Travis opposes State Question 836, the proposed ballot initiative to replace closed partisan primaries with an open "top-two" primary system.

"I'm against it," Travis said. "I'm afraid that having an open primary like that can really water down our conservative values."

Oklahoma Roots

Travis spoke about his deep connection to Oklahoma and his commitment to rural values.

"I'm very proud to be an Oklahoman, and I'm very proud to be in a red state," Travis said. "I wouldn't want to live anywhere in this world but Oklahoma."

He said his experience traveling internationally reinforced his appreciation for American opportunities.

"I have been to other parts of this world to learn about agriculture and Africa," Travis said. "I can tell you, if anybody ever wants to complain about living in America, you need to go to another country and see how those people are treated. I am very proud that I live in a country where I can be anything I want to be. With hard work and determination, the sky's the limit."

Travis framed his candidacy as protecting Oklahoma and rural communities for future generations.

"The reason I am running is because I want to protect Oklahoma, and I want to make Oklahoma a better place," Travis said. "I want people to be proud, be able to send our kids, their kids to Oklahoma schools, and know that they don't have to worry about these woke ideologies getting pushed onto our kids."

He emphasized farming and ranching as not just his livelihood but his identity.

"I have been in agriculture my whole life, and that's all I know as far as how to make a living," Travis said. "We always need to protect agriculture."

What's at Stake

House District 35 covers portions of Pawnee, Noble, Payne, Osage and Creek counties. The seat became vacant after Rep. Ty Burns resigned in August 2025, two days after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic abuse and assault charges.

Travis will face Democrat Luke Kruse, a 19-year educator and football coach from Morrison who teaches at Northern Oklahoma College, in the Feb. 10 general election.

The district is described as Republican plus 17, meaning Republican candidates typically win by 17 percentage points. Travis's decisive runoff victory—winning all five counties and all 26 precincts with 78.28 percent of the vote—positions him as the strong favorite heading into the general election.

Travis pledged consistent accessibility to constituents.

"The one thing I want to express to the people in my district is I will always be there for them," Travis said. "I will always be a phone call away, an email away, or a text away. And I will work every day to protect them, and I will work every day to make Oklahoma a better place."

He emphasized his commitment to rural representation.

"I'm always going to be fighting for our schools. I'm always going to be fighting to have better roads that these citizens are driving on," Travis said. "And I'm always going to be fighting to protect not only Oklahoma, but rural Oklahoma. Because my district's rural. It's very rural."

Voters can participate in the special election through three options: absentee ballots must be mailed by Feb. 3, early voting will be held Feb. 5-6 at county election boards from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Election Day voting will occur Feb. 10 at regular polling places from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The winner will serve the remainder of the unexpired term in House District 35.