OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman has been re-elected to a historic third term as the Senate leader.
Bingman — a Republican — said Tuesday he was selected by the 36 Senate Republicans in a closed-door caucus meeting. Bingman said in a statement that he is "incredibly humbled."
He will become the first Senate leader re-elected to a third term since Republicans took control of the chamber in 2008 for the first time since statehood. He will be formally elected to the post in 2015, after this year's elections.
The Senate President Pro Tem is one of the most powerful positions in state government with the ability to schedule bills for hearings and negotiate with the governor and House on the state's roughly $7 billion budget, among other things