Fresh off a morning of knocking on voter doors, Madison Horn took a sip of water as she looked out the window of her campaign’s “war room.” Located 24 floors above downtown Oklahoma City, the room included a large wall-mounted calendar with upcoming events, and precinct maps were strewn across a desk.
But the view from atop the skyscraper brought into focus many of the urban, suburban and some rural neighborhoods Horn needs to reach as she tries to flip the state’s Fifth Congressional District back into Democratic control for the second time in six years.
“I think Democrats can win this (seat) again … but I don’t really give a shit about party politics, and that’s what people are kind of looking for,” said Horn, dismissing her campaign as less about winning for Democrats and more a chance to reflect what she sees as a moderate and pragmatic district.
In 2018, during a difficult midterm election from Republicans across the country, Kendra Horn — no relation to Madison — pulled off a surprising upset for Democrats in the fifth district, beating incumbent Steve Russell.
But two years later, Kendra Horn lost her reelection bid to Stephanie Bice, then a Republican state senator.
“This race was about so much more than just CD5; it was really about the future of our party in Oklahoma,” Bice told supporters after winning her 2020 race by five percentage points.
Since then, Bice has been reelected to a second term and the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature redrew the district’s boundaries to give Republicans a sizable advantage.
A district that once included nearly all of Oklahoma City now includes portions of Canadian County, a Republican stronghold, while it has lost the city’s Democratically controlled southside.
“Redistricting left Democrats without a prayer of competing federally in the state by pushing more of blue-trending Oklahoma City out of the 5th District, making all five seats firmly GOP again,” wrote Matthew Klein in analyzing the state’s new districts for The Cook Political Report.
But Horn said she still sees a path.
“The narrative that we have heard across the district … is really this deep frustration with what I call the rot in American politics, which is partisan politics,” Madison told Oklahoma Gazette.
“I think it’s possible for a Democrat to win, and I think it’s possible because in the state of Oklahoma, while yes, we’re a conservative state, no doubt, you know, we’re also a highly independent thinking state.”
After more than a decade working in the cybersecurity industry, Horn ran for U.S. Senate in 2022 against incumbent Sen. James Lankford. She lost her bid by more than 32 percentage points.
But Horn said that losing that campaign allowed her to refine her messaging and become “more authentic.”
“Too much about politics is trying to figure out what am I supposed to say as a Democrat or what would a Republican say, and then you kind of meet in the middle, and it turns into this garbage,” Horn said, analyzing what she learned from her Senate race. “I wanted to get out of those narratives and just be comfortable with saying whatever I wanted about how I want to make an impact here in the state.”
She is campaigning on several Democratic issues, including access to abortion and protecting undocumented residents brought to the country when they were children. But she is also pushing for increased investments in cybersecurity.
“When I talk about the need to have a more proactive cybersecurity posture or the reality that we are facing a cold war with China and what that may look like, those are weird talking points for a Democrat,” Horn said. “But it’s so important for our country’s future.”
‘I live in Oklahoma City’
Unlike 2020, Bice is no longer the underdog candidate trying to flip the state’s most urban district. After the district was redrawn last year to be more favorable to Republicans, Bice enters this November’s election as a strong favorite.
“What was becoming more purple is now, with redistricting, a solidly entrenched red district,” said Emily Stacey, professor of political science at Rose State College.
Most polling analysis sites give Bice a near-certain chance at winning.
Democratic voters are most often found in urban centers, which is the case in Oklahoma. But Oklahoma City is the largest city in America without a Democratic member of Congress.
Even in similarly Republican-dominated states, at least one Democratic House member can be found in large cities, including Indianapolis, Columbus and San Antonio.
While Bice isn’t expected to win the progressive precincts of central Oklahoma City, she has done a decent job of appealing to more moderate Republicans in the suburbs, Stacey said.
As a state senator, Bice established a brand as a pro-business lawmaker that some considered a moderate. She was a solid supporter of conservative causes but also tackled more centrist issues, like alcohol modernization.
In Congress, Bice voted against certifying Biden’s 2020 election win and rates in the top half of most conservative members, according to CPAC. Horn has highlighted those stances to paint Bice as an extreme conservative more beholden to party politics.
In response, Bice points to her work on bipartisan measures, including a paid family leave plan and national defense.
But she also believes Horn’s “nonpartisan” message has more to do with the fact that the fifth district is Republican-leaning.
“My opponent trying to transcend party lines is an effort … really be more moderate,” Bice told Oklahoma Gazette. “She actually never says that she is a Democrat. She doesn’t say she is a proud Democrat; she is trying to paint herself as a moderate.”
Bice also entered the final months of the campaign with a significant fundraising advantage with more than $1.3 million in cash, according to the latest federal campaign expense reports. Horn’s campaign account was at nearly $68,000, although she’s spent more than $285,000 throughout the campaign.
A reelection win would make Bice the district’s first three-time winner in more than 20 years, although several incumbents moved onto higher office, including former governor Mary Fallin and current U.S. Sen. James Lankford.
Like Horn, Bice called cybersecurity an important issue and highlighted her work on the House subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems, which oversees Department of Defense policy related to computer software and electromagnetic warfare.
However, Bice said remaining in Congress would also give her the chance to do more of the community-based work she’s come to enjoy, such as working with local cities on infrastructure funding.
“I think first and foremost, you’ve got to be out meeting with your constituents and being in the community, and that’s one thing I’ve really focused on,” Bice said. “People will ask me, ‘What is it like to live in D.C.?,’ and I remind them that I don’t live in D.C.; I work in D.C. I live here in Oklahoma City.”
This article appears in Bigger than basketball.