(Update: On Tuesday, June 16, GOP candidates Madison Bolay and Danielle Deterding advanced to an Aug. 25 runoff election.)
Rep. John Pfeiffer’s departure after 12 years has drawn a crowded field of six Republicans to Oklahoma’s House District 38 primary, including two veterans, a CPA, a chiropractor and a pair of farmers competing to succeed him.
Pfeiffer (R-Orlando) is running to be Oklahoma’s next commissioner of labor as term limits put an end to his time in the Legislature, which has seen him serve as an assistant majority floor leader and vice chairman of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
With more municipalities than stoplights, HD 38 covers parts of Garfield, Grant, Kay, Logan and Noble counties, with a total area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The sprawling district runs from Crescent to Newkirk, including the communities of Tonkawa, Blackwell, Medford, Mulhall and North Enid.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Doyle Lewis, the only Democrat running for the seat, in November’s general election.
The following cheat sheet offers an overview of the Republican candidates running in the HD 38 primary election and is derived from publicly available information, such as campaign websites and social media pages. Candidates are listed alphabetically.
Madison Bolay
Age:Â 38
Profession/background:Â Madison Bolay is a fifth-generation Noble County farmer and ag businessman who grew up in Perry, where he attended Perry High School before graduating from Oklahoma State University, according to his website. He and his wife are raising three children in Perry, where his kids attend public schools and his wife works in public education.
Platform:Â Bolay is running on a platform that supports rural infrastructure and agricultural protection, as well as better roads and reliable broadband for rural communities. On his website, Bolay notes the rural nature of HD 38 and implies that he knows it well.
“I don’t need a map to find your town,” he wrote. “I raise my kids by the same faith and values you do. And I’m ready to fight for us.”
He supports parental rights and local control of schools and says he will defend private property rights and cut red tape for farmers and ranchers. He opposes what he describes as outside threats to Oklahoma’s agricultural way of life.
“I’m not a politician,” Bolay wrote on his website. “I’m a conservative fighter who works the land, raises my family right and wants to protect our rural values from being destroyed by the left.”
Suzanne Callihan
Age:Â 65
Profession/background:Â Suzanne Callihan is a certified public accountant and technology professional with roughly 30 years of private-sector experience in financial systems and data management, including about two decades in Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry, according to her website. She previously served four years as a legislative analyst and assistant at the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
A 30-year Oklahoma resident, she has called the Guthrie/Edmond area home for 14 years. She and her husband, a retired special education teacher, have mentored youth through Big Brothers Big Sisters for more than seven years.
Platform: On her website, Callihan emphasizes government accountability and regulatory relief, calling for reduced burdens on small businesses, farmers and ranchers, as well as stronger protections for private property rights. She also supports an Oklahoma Caregiver Tax Credit for families caring for elderly relatives, drawing on her own experience caring for her father for eight years. She describes herself as firmly pro-life and pro-Second Amendment and says she will defend constitutional rights in an era of emerging technology and AI.
“With real-world experience and a heart for service, Suzanne Callihan is ready to fight for hardworking Oklahoma families, responsible government and Oklahoma’s core values at the State Capitol,” Callihan wrote on her website.
Danielle Deterding
Age:Â 48
Profession/background:Â Danielle Deterding was born in Julesburg, Colorado, and moved to Pond Creek in 1999 after meeting her husband. According to her website, she holds a business degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and an MBA with an accounting emphasis from Baker College. She has worked as a federal contractor since 2002 and has also owned a small gym, operated a tax preparation business for more than 20 years, and spent 13 years working alongside her husband in his oilfield services company. The couple moved to Enid in 2015.
Deterding served seven years on the Chisholm Public School Board, including three as board president. She enrolled in a Ph.D. program in business at Oklahoma State University in August 2024 and expects to graduate in December 2027.
Platform:Â Deterding is centering her campaign on rural economic growth, conservative education policy and fiscal discipline, according to her website. She supports cutting red tape for small businesses and farmers, opposes foreign ownership of Oklahoma land, and says she will bring business-minded efficiency to state government.
Regarding education, she wants to restore classroom discipline, protect parental rights and keep what she calls “woke indoctrination” out of schools.
“I’m running to protect our conservative values, strengthen our rural schools, and make sure north-central Oklahoma remains a place where our families can thrive for generations,” Deterding wrote on her website.
Brian Hobbs
Age:Â 49
Profession/background:Â Brian Hobbs is a farmer and rancher from Newkirk who served in the U.S. Army. According to his website, he served as mayor of Newkirk from 2019 to 2023 and has held several positions in Oklahoma Republican Party leadership, including Kay County Republican Party chairman, Congressional District 3 vice chairman and OKGOP Election Integrity Board chairman. Hobbs currently serves as OKGOP Finance Committee chairman.
At the inception of the OKGOP’s Election Integrity Board in 2021, Hobbs and Rep. Sean Roberts served together as vice chair and chairman, respectively. A political ally of Roberts, Hobbs ran for HD 38 in 2018 but lost to Pfeiffer in a runoff election with 41 percent of the vote.
During his tenure as mayor of Newkirk, Hobbs attended the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. In a New York Times report, Hobbs was misattributed as saying the Capitol could easily be torn down “brick by brick,” but the publication later corrected the story with attribution to Eric Dark, a truck driver from Braman.
Platform:Â Hobbs is running on a staunch conservative platform emphasizing Second Amendment rights, agricultural policy and opposition to government mandates, according to his website. He points to his time as Newkirk’s mayor, when he says he refused to enforce COVID-era restrictions, as evidence of his willingness to stand firm against government overreach.
He has called for lower taxes, full funding for law enforcement and strong protections for water and property rights in rural Oklahoma. He also says he has already helped advance pro-life and pro-Second Amendment legislation at the Capitol without holding a seat.
“My time spent at the [Capitol] has given me insight and wisdom on how to get things done,” Hobbs wrote on his website. “I am now asking HD 38 to send me to the House to represent our values as a voting member.”
Jim Neal
Age:Â 59
Profession/background:Â Jim Neal is a third-generation Oklahoman who was born in Guthrie and raised in Crescent, according to his website. After graduating from Ringling High School in 1985, he served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt as a damage controlman and hull technician. He later started a pest and termite control business, which he still owns and operates. He also ran a part-time cow-calf operation for several years before selling the cattle to spend more time with his daughter.
Neal served on the Crescent City Council, where he says the team helped revitalize Main Street, overhaul water and wastewater systems, establish a public library and save the city’s historic water tower, among other projects. He recently stepped down from the council to run for HD 38.
Platform:Â Neal lacks a full platform section on his website but says he is running on the record he built in Crescent, pointing to infrastructure improvements, downtown revitalization and community services as evidence of what he calls grit and teamwork.
“Every chapter of my life — from the Navy to business ownership, from raising a family to revitalizing a town — has prepared me for this moment,” Neal wrote on his website.
Michael Norman
Age:Â 58
Profession/background:Â Michael Norman is a chiropractor and entrepreneur who has owned and operated a chiropractic practice for decades, according to his website. He has also taught middle school, with an emphasis on traditional education.
Norman lives in rural Logan County near Crescent with his wife. He describes himself as having chosen a rural Oklahoma lifestyle and says he attends St. Mary Catholic Church in Guthrie.
Platform:Â Norman’s most distinctive proposal is a five-step plan to eliminate property taxes on homesteads and agricultural land, which he says on his website would be phased in by acting on existing state audits, cutting wasteful spending and redirecting savings into local government reimbursement funds before gradually lowering millage rates.
He also opposes wind, solar and COâ‚‚ pipeline projects that he says put pressure on rural landowners through eminent domain. He has pledged not to accept lobbyist or corporate money.
“I think we’re at a crisis level at multiple fronts,” Norman said in an interview. “I’m not a person that can just ignore things while the Republic burns and go play golf every weekend. We’ve got to step up and do our part.”
