Rep. Kendra Horn (D) on Wednesday morning conceded to state Sen. Stephanie Bice (R) in the hotly contested race to represent Oklahoma’s 5th District in Congress, returning a previously red seat to the GOP.
Bice’s victory means Republicans will take back control of the Oklahoma City-area district after Horn flipped the seat in 2018, becoming the first Democrat to win it since the 1970s.
The congresswoman-elect has served as the assistant majority floor leader and chair of the Finance Committee in the Oklahoma state Senate. Her website describes her as “pro-life conservative” who has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
Horn, a moderate Democrat, is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the Space and Aeronautics subcommittee on the House’s Science, Space and Technology Committee.
In 2018, Horn had a surprise victory over then-Rep. Steve Russell (R).
This year, The Cook Political Report, an election forecaster, had determined that the race between Bice and Horn was a toss-up.