Frontier Executive Editor Dylan Goforth spoke with Jena Nelson, a Democrat running to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District, which covers Lincoln, Pottawatomie and Seminole counties, as well as most of Oklahoma County and parts of Canadian and Logan counties. 

Nelson discussed her efforts to appeal to Republican voters, her concerns about federal healthcare cuts and rising costs, and why she believes listening to constituents rather than following national party politics could help her flip the Republican-held seat. She also criticized Bice’s support for President Donald Trump’s policies and outlined her priorities on education, immigration and affordability.

Bice’s campaign did not respond to requests to participate in an interview.

For the full interview, listen to our podcast.

Goforth:You’ve run statewide before here in Oklahoma, and now you’re asking voters to send you to Congress. What have you learned from campaigning across the state? What do you think you understand about voters in the 5th District that Democrats who’ve struggled there in the past maybe did not?

Nelson: Well, I think from running before that people saw what happened in the last race, and they understand that I told them the truth. I think they feel they can trust me. They know me because I live in the 5th District. I’ve worked with a lot of different communities across the 5th District, and even after that race, I didn’t go away. I was still very much invested in the 5th District.

I think that, coupled with the fact that this campaign has been very community-centered —where I meet with people one-on-one, I meet with people in small groups, I meet them in town halls, I’m meeting them at their doors, I’m meeting them on the phone. They feel that I’m very accessible.

Goforth: One of the things that you’ve made an important centerpiece of your campaign is affordability. I wondered, if you’re elected, are there things that you could actually vote for or introduce in Congress that could noticeably lower costs for an Oklahoma family? Obviously, that depends on the makeup of the House and the Senate and how the November election breaks out.

How quickly should voters expect to start seeing prices come down or maybe some change in affordability?

Nelson: Well, I’m hoping that we can see a lot of changes, but the most important thing that we have to do is overturn the Big Beautiful Bill, pass a reconciliation bill to restore funding. The bill that Stephanie Bice voted for, those cuts are timed to actually occur in January of 2027, and that’s when I would be sworn in if I win this election.

You will see cuts to our hospitals. There’s $7 billion in cuts coming to Oklahoma hospitals because of that bill. We’ve already started to see the cuts to Medicaid. We’ve started to see cuts to childcare, mental health.

We have got to get in there and overturn that bill and restore funding because we are going to hemorrhage in this state. We know that our state depends so much on federal funding.

I’m hoping to get in there and work with folks as quickly as possible. I’m hoping that Republicans will see as well that this is not a bill that helps any of their constituents either, and we need to work together to restore funding to essential services to people all across this country.

Goforth: Let’s talk a little about education. You’re obviously a former Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. Most decisions about public schooling are made at the state and local level, but is there anything that Congress or a member of Congress can do to improve education in their state or in Oklahoma? What would your priorities for schools be if you were elected?

Nelson: Number one is to bring back the Department of Education under one umbrella.

Secretary McMahon has worked very diligently to break up the Department of Education, and what’s happening is that we are seeing the rights of children all across the country, and the rights of parents as well, be completely obliterated.

For example, special education is now housed (at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) under the same department with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. That needs to be under education. The Office of Civil Rights has not looked at a complaint in over a year.

It is very important that the Department of Education oversee federal funding so that states are held accountable and that schools are getting the funding that they need.

Another thing is that they are about to push a nationwide voucher scheme, and we have seen in Oklahoma that does not work. It does not help our schools, and it does not help our public school students at all.

I’ll be fighting against that so that every kid across the nation has access to a free and appropriate public education.

Goforth: Let’s talk a little about healthcare. You’ve warned, and you mentioned this earlier in the interview, that changes to Medicaid and other federal health programs could hurt Oklahoma families. Obviously, rural hospitals closing in Oklahoma has been an issue for a while.

If Democrats win the House and you’re part of that majority, what specifically would you try to reverse or change? And how would you find the money for it?

Nelson: The first thing we have to do is overturn the Big Beautiful Bill and rescind the tax cuts for the billionaires because Oklahoma hospitals need those dollars, not billionaires.

When you think about it, I talk to a lot of rural folks, and I ask them this question: How long does it take you to get to your hospital right now? What happens? How long is it going to take you to get to it now that it’s closed?

They’re saying it’s going to be an hour, 45 minutes. When you think about that, minutes and seconds count when you are having a medical emergency. What we are doing to people in rural areas is not fair.

Then you will absolutely overwhelm the hospitals in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and other areas, suburban areas as well. We are creating a healthcare crisis.

Rescinding those tax cuts for billionaires who do not need them will help us as well.

I’m also very concerned about the fact that people are losing their health insurance.

I talked to the sweetest lady last week on the phone, and she said that she can no longer afford her medication, so she’s going to have to stop taking it.

These cuts are not just dollars. It’s people’s lives that Congress is playing with right now.

I think that’s the part that really gets me right now, Dylan, is the fact that they talk about numbers and they talk about statistics, but they forget that these numbers and statistics are human beings.

We are taking healthcare, the thing that keeps us all alive, away from human beings, and they act like it’s no big deal.

It’s so frustrating to me to hear them talk and not realize that you are taking food and medicine and care away from your neighbors.

Goforth: Stephanie Bice was recently recorded talking about what she called “Trump fatigue.” She said she’s heard from voters who don’t like the president and that her fear is that some Republicans might not vote in November.

President Trump came to Oklahoma and recently endorsed Republican congressional candidates in the other four districts but did not mention Bice in his remarks.

What do you think is happening politically in this district? Are voters actually moving toward Democrats? Are you relying on dissatisfaction with Trump to help get you across the finish line? What are you seeing with voters there, both red and blue?

Nelson: I don’t think that they’re moving toward Democrats. I think that they’re starting to listen to the people who are running and the policies they have.

When you look at people like me, like Cyndi Munson, we’re not out there waving anybody’s flag. We’re actually just having those conversations, and we’re willing to hold people accountable.

That’s the thing. Stephanie talks about having Trump fatigue, and I just want to make it clear: Even though she didn’t show up on stage with him, she was endorsed by him. She has voted with him every single time.

Every time a bad policy comes up that hurts Oklahomans, she has stood with him.

Whether she’s trying to distance herself or not, the proof is in the pudding, and the proof is in the votes that she has made.

I think that people are willing to sit down and have a conversation with someone like me who has been known in the community, who shows up for the community, whether it’s political or not.

They know that they can trust me because when something bad shows up, whether it is the Big Beautiful Bill or Ryan Walters, Jena Nelson has shown up to stand up against these things that hurt our community.

Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.