(Update:Â On Tuesday, June 16, Preston Stinson won the GOP nomination for House District 96 and advanced to the Nov. 3 general election.)
Rep. Preston Stinson faces four challengers as he seeks a fourth term this election cycle, and while a trio of Democrats is seeking their party’s House District 96 nomination, he faces a feud with his lone Republican opponent, John Bachman.
Bachman, who says he is running without donations from lobbyists or political action committees, has distributed mailers criticizing Stinson’s acceptance of funds from interest groups.
Cheat sheet:
HD 96 Democrats
One entity Bachman and a PAC supporting him have mentioned by name is Epic Charter Schools, for which Stinson served on a board dedicated to a California expansion before his first campaign in 2020. Stinson discussed the contributions he received from Epic co-founders Ben Harris and David Chaney with NonDoc in 2022 after the two men were charged with 13 felony counts. Stinson (R-Edmond) said he was asked to serve on that board in 2016 and that Harris had promised him nothing “sketchy” was going on with the charter school.
“I said ‘sure,’ and at that time there had already been investigations and what not going on,” Stinson said in 2022. “I asked him, ‘Just shoot me straight here, is there anything sketchy going on? Because if there is, I can’t be involved in that.’”
In this year’s campaign, Stinson authored a Facebook post May 27 in response to pro-Bachman mailers and text messages from Make Liberty Win, which he called “an out-of-state dark money group based in Virginia.” Stinson opened his post by saying, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” and he criticized the PAC and Bachman.
“They’ve been flooding House District 96 with mailers and text messages attacking my record with lies, distortions, and outright fiction. I received three mailers yesterday alone,” Stinson wrote in a Facebook post. “My opponent tells people he’ll ‘do whatever it takes to win’ and that he’ll ‘just buy this race’ if necessary. Frankly, that’s his BEST character reference.”
In the same post, Stinson linked to a website created by his campaign detailing the “financial issues” of Bachman, which proclaims: “He can’t pay his own bills” and “His ‘CURRENT business’ has a problem.”
“Iron Goat Garage doesn’t appear to be open. Their listed phone number is not answered by Iron Goat Garage. Their website returns nothing. There is no verifiable sign the business is actively operating,” Stinson’s website states about Bachman’s business. “And in 2023, Iron Goat Garage LLC was named as a party in an Oklahoma County civil lawsuit — Case No. CJ-2023-3917 — along with Kenneth John Bachman Jr. himself. Bachman campaigns on accountability and results. His own business can’t answer the phone.”
While court records show the breach of agreement lawsuit culminated in “mutual dismissal” in 2024, it had been filed by Bachman’s business partner, who called Bachman “abusive, combative, narcissistic and litigious in nature.”
On the website launched by Stinson’s campaign and in a mailer, Stinson also accuses Bachman of having a “secret family,” citing a divorce filing and noting his admonition of paying child support for a child outside the marriage.
In his own mailer, Bachman said his relationship with the daughter referenced in the filings is “known to many and her relationship with her father has never been a mystery.”
Stinson also criticized Bachman for a bankruptcy filing, foreclosures and creditor suits for failure to pay. A quote from Bachman’s Facebook is paired with the list of court citations, stating: “If you mismanage money, you lose trust.”
Though it did not directly reference any individual incident, Bachman’s own mailer addressing the allegations said, “Real businessmen have scars.”
“He signed paychecks, faced setbacks, resolved disputes, weathered tough times and kept building,” Bachman’s mailer states. “That’s not something to mock. That’s exactly the kind of real-world experience Oklahoma needs at the Capitol.”
A debate between Stinson and Bachman is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, June 11, at Eddie’s on 2nd Street.
House District 96 covers portions of Edmond, Arcadia and northeast Oklahoma City. The winner of the Republican primary will go on to face a Democratic challenger — either Philip Massad, Austin Reams or Ashtyn Smith — in November.
The following cheat sheet offers an overview of the two HD 96 Republican candidates based on information from publicly available sources, such as websites, social media pages and other online resources. Candidates are presented in alphabetical order.
John Bachman
Age: 67
Profession/Background:Â John Bachman’s website states he “owns and operates Iron Goat Garage, a full-service automotive repair shop in northwest Oklahoma City specializing in off-road vehicles.” While Stinson’s website alleges that Iron Goat no longer operates, Bachman said in a campaign mailer that it “merged with Offroad Addiction in April” and became his second “successful business exit.”
In 1989, Bachman started Economy Hearing in Oklahoma and sold it more than 20 years later. Along the way, he supported the Starkey Hearing Foundation and participated in mission work to provide hearing aids to those in need around the world.
Platform:Â One of Bachman’s Facebook posts outlines his commitment to navigating financial decisions.
“I’m running for the Oklahoma House because our state government has grown too big, too expensive, and too disconnected from the people it’s supposed to serve,” Bachman wrote.
Bachman further said that “Oklahoma state spending has exploded in recent years.”
“Appropriations have skyrocketed far beyond inflation and population growth, while total spending now exceeds $30 billion. Yet with all that money, agencies are struggling with inefficiency, mission creep, and even basic financial control,” Bachman wrote. “Some departments have lost track of their budgets. Others appear more focused on political agendas than serving Oklahoma families.”
Bachman said HD 96 needs “a reset.”
“Oklahoma needs leaders who understand how to manage money, build systems that work, and ask tough questions,” Bachman wrote. “I’ve made a commitment to refuse lobbyist money so my decisions are guided by the people of this district, not special interests. Career politicians have overseen the runaway growth of government while becoming increasingly dependent on those interests.”
Bachman’s website features a photo of him with former U.S. Army Maj. Ed Pulido and proclaims a “commitment to practical solutions, fiscal responsibility, and accountable leadership.”
“John’s only obligation is to the people he represents. Every decision he makes will be guided by conservative principles, real-world judgment, and accountability to voters — not to special interests or political insiders,” his site states.
Rep. Preston Stinson (incumbent)
Age: 53
Profession/Background:Â Preston Stinson has served as the representative for House District 96 since winning the 2020 election. Stinson holds a degree in finance from the University of Central Oklahoma and a master’s of business in finance from Oklahoma Christian University, according to his LinkedIn. He is married to Oklahoma County District Judge Sheila Stinson.
Platform: Stinson’s website touts his legislative role in lowering grocery and state franchise taxes. He “backed the toughest anti-illegal immigration laws in the country — banning sanctuary cities and empowering law enforcement to work with federal authorities.” Stinson supports school choice, reading proficiency and “keeping politics out of the classroom.”
“I’ve had a few battles in my life and I know what it’s like to fight back,” Stinson wrote in a Facebook post. “That’s the same attitude I bring to the State Capitol. I will never back down from defending our Oklahoma values and ensuring that our state is the best place to work, live, and raise a family.”
During the 2026 Legislative session, Stinson sponsored Senate Bill 1344 to “to help expand access to affordable insulin and encourage domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing,” a press release from the Oklahoma House of Representatives said.
“For too many families, insulin is not just expensive, it is a life-sustaining medication they cannot go without,” Stinson said in the press release. “This will improve access to affordable insulin while also supporting innovation and American manufacturing. No Oklahoman should have to choose between paying their bills and getting the medication they need to stay alive.”
Stinson also aided in securing $5 million of PREP funding for the Uncommon Ground Sculpture Park.
Owing to his time on the board for Epic California — which folded before ever launching a school — Stinson’s vote against a 2021 bill that would have strengthened regulations and requirements on charter schools drew questions. Stinson, however, said he had one conversation with Harris about it wherein Harris suggested it was “not really that big of a deal one way or the other.”
“People can draw a bunch of inferences if they want to, but there really is generally nothing to see here on my side,” Stinson said in 2022. “I never talked to anybody. Never heard from any of the OSBI people. Never heard from any of the grand jury people. I’ve never heard from anybody about any of this. Everything I know about it, I know when you guys report it.”
