Kevin Hern wins Oklahoma GOP Senate primary after Trump endorsement
What's next: The five-term House Republican is favored in November in a state Trump has carried in all 77 counties three times.
Rep. Kevin Hern won Oklahoma's Republican primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, putting the Trump-backed congressman on track for a likely promotion to the chamber. Hern, a five-term House member and the House Republican Policy Committee chair, entered the race after President Donald Trump nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to lead the Department of Homeland Security. In an interview before the vote, Hern said voters kept pressing for passage of the SAVE Act, a bill that would require voter ID and citizenship verification. Oklahoma is one of the country's most reliably Republican states, and Hern is expected to face the Democratic nominee in November with a strong advantage.