Travis Wins HD 35 Republican Nomination With 78% of Vote

Dillon Travis decisively won the Republican nomination for Oklahoma House District 35 on Tuesday, defeating Mike Waters by a 56-point margin in a special election runoff that saw turnout drop 22 percent from the December primary.

Travis, a sixth-generation Oklahoma farmer and rancher from Maramec and owner of Southern Plains Ag Co., captured 78.28 percent of the vote with 1,517 votes. Waters, a former Pawnee County Sheriff with more than 25 years in law enforcement, received 421 votes (21.72 percent).

The margin represented a dramatic shift from the Dec. 9 primary, where Travis finished first with 30.41 percent and Waters placed second with 21 percent in a five-candidate race. Travis will face Democrat Luke Kruse in the Feb. 10 general election.

"I am deeply humbled and incredibly grateful for the trust the people of House District 35 have placed in me," Travis said in a statement posted to Facebook. "This victory isn't about one person—it's about our neighbors, our families, and our shared belief that rural Oklahoma deserves a strong voice and a relentless advocate at the Capitol."

A total of 1,938 voters cast ballots in Tuesday's runoff, down from 2,476 in the primary. All 26 precincts in the district completely reported results.

Geographic Sweep

Travis won all five counties in the district for the second time, including Pawnee County where Waters served as Sheriff. In Pawnee County, the district's most populous, Travis captured 778 votes (74.5 percent) to Waters's 266 votes (25.5 percent).

Travis's strongest performance came in Creek County, where he won 214 votes (86.3 percent) to Waters's 34 votes. Travis also dominated in Osage County with 84.2 percent, Noble County with 80.6 percent, and Payne County with 80.7 percent.

Waters's best precinct performance came in Pawnee County precinct 590202, where he lost by just six votes, 122-116. The precinct was the only one where the margin was fewer than 10 votes.

Low Turnout Favors Travis

Travis led across all voting methods. He received 1,416 votes on Election Day compared to Waters's 352 votes. In early voting, Travis captured 90 votes to Waters's 57 votes. Absentee mail voting was the closest category, with Waters receiving 12 votes and Travis receiving 11 votes.

The 1,938-vote turnout represented a 21.7 percent decrease from the December primary, when 2,476 voters participated. Special election runoffs typically see significantly lower turnout than primary elections.

In the primary, 1,203 votes—nearly half of all ballots cast—went to three eliminated candidates: James Winn (509 votes), Kevin Wright (504 votes), and Amber Roberts (190 votes). Travis's ability to consolidate support from those voters proved decisive in the runoff.

Looking Ahead

The winner of the Feb. 10 general election will serve the remainder of the unexpired term in House District 35, which 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 faces Democrat Luke Kruse, a 40-year-old educator and football coach from Morrison who teaches at Northern Oklahoma College. Kruse's campaign platform emphasizes public education funding, support for foster families, and rural infrastructure investment.

Travis's campaign platform focuses on education reform modeled after Mississippi's literacy initiatives, agricultural protection including opposition to foreign ownership of Oklahoma farmland, rural infrastructure investment, and support for natural gas development over renewable energy subsidies.

Travis thanked Waters in his statement. "I want to thank Mike Waters, a good man who ran a clean and respectful campaign," Travis said.

"We are ready to move forward into the special general election on February 10," Travis said. "No one will ever outwork me, and I will never stop fighting for the values and way of life that make this district special."

Editor's Note: Election results are official as reported by the Oklahoma State Election Board as of January 13, 2026, at 11:00 p.m. CT.