VoterBloc
Photograph of Kevin Hern

Kevin Hern

U.S. House · OK-1 · Republicans · since 2025

also

Candidate for U.S. House · OK-1

Target Kevin

Biography

Overview

Kevin Hern is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 1st congressional district, serving since 2018. Born in Missouri and raised in Arkansas, he earned degrees from Arkansas Tech University and holds an MBA. Before entering politics, Hern was a successful businessman who owned 18 McDonald's franchises in the Tulsa area and founded several other business enterprises. He became chairman of the Republican Study Committee in 2023 and is currently running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Markwayne Mullin.

Career

Hern has been elected to four consecutive House terms since 2018, including winning his 2024 primary with 87% of the vote. He served as chairman of the Republican Study Committee during the 118th Congress. He was a candidate for Speaker of the House during both the January and October 2023 Speaker elections. His legislative focus has been on healthcare access, regulatory reform, and tax policy. He also received approximately $1-2 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans for his KTAK Corporation during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said was not a bailout but repayment for government-taken resources.

Prior political experience

Hern was first elected to Congress in 2018 after advancing through a runoff in a special election following Jim Bridenstine's resignation. He defeated Democrat Tim Gilpin in the general election and was appointed by Governor Mary Fallin to serve the remainder of Bridenstine's term. He was elected to full terms in 2020 (63.7% of votes against Democrat Kojo Asamoa-Caesar and Independent Evelyn Rogers), 2022 (defeating Democrat Adam Martin with 60.2% of votes), and 2024 (winning his primary with 87% of votes before facing Democrat Dennis Baker in the general election). His election margins have consistently been strong in the Republican-leaning district.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal
Conservative
119th Congress+0.680

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1
+1
-0.049
Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 339 scored votes

Campaigns targeting Kevin Hern

No active campaigns target Kevin Hern right now.

Start a campaign targeting Kevin Hern

Officeholding history

TermSeatTerm datesTerminationPredecessorSuccessor
5thU.S. House OK-12025–presentIn progressKevin Hern—
4thU.S. House OK-12023–2025Term endedKevin HernKevin Hern
3rdU.S. House OK-12021–2023Term endedKevin HernKevin Hern
2ndU.S. House OK-12019–2021Term endedKevin HernKevin Hern
1stU.S. House OK-12018–2019Term ended—Kevin Hern

Committee assignments

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

YearSeatResultVote shareField
2024U.S. House OK-1Won63.70%