Ahead of HD 35 special election, candidates talk rural infrastructure, education, property tax

Rural interests are front and center in the race to succeed former Rep. Ty Burns in representing House District 35, which is set to conclude with a Feb. 10 general election between Republican Dillon Travis and Democrat Luke Kruse.

Both men avoided commenting on national politics during interviews about their candidacies, while also agreeing that rural education and infrastructure are their constituents’ main focus.

“The people of this district should have safe roads to drive on, they should have safe drinking water, and they should have good sewage,” Travis said. “Being in the last three (states for education rankings), there is no excuse for that. I think our biggest thing is we need to focus on education.”

Kruse emphasized the need to increase public investment in rural Oklahoma by arguing that funding levels in education have lagged for nearly two decades despite increases since 2018.