Wes Watkins - Entry Into Politics

Entry Into Politics

Watkins became active in Democratic party politics in the early 1970s, and was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1974. Two years later, U. S. House Speaker Carl Albert announced his retirement after 30 years representing Oklahoma's 3rd Congressional District. The district, which was based in the southeastern part of the state and known as Little Dixie, was heavily Democratic in both local and national elections. Watkins faced a formidable opponent in Albert's popular longtime Chief of Staff and Administrative Assistant Charles Ward. However, Watkins. a homebuilder and remodeler and wife Lou, a political science teacher had closer local ties in the district, as Ward had been in Washington DC for decades. Watkins prevailed in the Democratic primary runoff and he then gained Albert's endorsement and won the general election with 82% of the vote. He was re-elected six more times, always by close to 80% of the vote. For most of this time, he served on the Budget or Appropriations Committees, allowing him to bring large amounts of money to his mostly rural and agricultural district. He was also very active in oil and natural gas issues, and took particularly strong interest in economic development issues for his rural district.