Cole Votes Yes

The Mission: Retiring Tom Cole and Fixing Broken Systems

While out on the doors, I’ve noticed the primary election isn't on most people's minds. So, although I am out to remind voters to get out on June 16, the message remains the same. Get out to vote on June 16, then get ready again, because we are going to unseat Tom Cole. I stepped into this race not knowing I would have a primary election, but that won’t stop this movement one bit. Because this race has always been about retiring Tom Cole. Ousting someone who has been in office since 2003. And replacing one of the biggest yes-men who wields great power. So let me remind you why we are here, why I stepped into this race, and why this matters. 

I am running to earn the democratic nomination, AND I am running to be your next Congressman because the systems that make up America are broken. For those who don’t know, I ran for House District 20 in 2024 because the education system was failing my children and thousands of children across Oklahoma. I ran because I, a concerned citizen, wanted better for my community. I was unhappy with Ryan Walters. I saw the lack of Democratic representation and knew we needed help. And the mission is simple: restore this Democracy and allow the People to have a voice. My friend, I am the type of person who only complains once before I feel obligated to solve an issue myself. And so, I saw there was a candidate issue; not enough people were willing to step up and put their name on the ballot to fight for what is right. So, I stepped in. I lost that race, but that experience prepped me and primed me for what was to come next. 

When Donald Trump signed the executive order to end birthright citizenship, that wasn’t just an attack on my family; it was an attack on thousands like mine. This is why I stepped into the fight, but it is not the only reason keeping me in this race. America is struggling under the Trump Administration. The federal government is out of control. And then, on July 4th, 2026, Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law … and that raised the stakes. This monstrous bill, over 1,000 pages, is a massive legislative package that has taken months to unpack. And we are still unpacking it.

Trading Long-Term Health for “Energy Dominance”

It is April 1st, and Spring is underway. And later this month, we will celebrate Earth Day. Earth Day exists due to environmental concerns in the United States. These same worries persist decades later because lawmakers continue to ignore facts and deny consequences. What we see now is nothing new. It’s a continuation. We see this in policies like the One Big Beautiful Bill, especially in how it approaches energy. It shows us exactly how we got here. And Tom Cole voted for this. 

The OBBB favors traditional energy. After all, the slogan is “drill, baby, drill!” By rolling back major portions of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the administration has shifted from a strategy focused on climate goals to one focused on expanding fossil fuels under the guise of “energy dominance.” While some sectors will benefit from this bill, this bill will have long-lasting impacts on the economy and the air we breathe. 

What if I told you the government is paying companies to capture carbon pollution from the air? Then what if I also told you those same companies can get paid to use that carbon to produce more oil? This is exactly what is happening under the 45Q tax credit. Before, companies received more money if they permanently stored carbon underground (better for the climate), and less if they used that same carbon to produce more oil. As of 2025, companies get the same amount of money either way.

Some say the process of enhanced oil recovery, where companies inject captured carbon into aging oil fields to push out more oil, will reduce overall emissions, which may be true in some cases, but producing more oil means more carbon WILL eventually be released back into the atmosphere. And this accurately reflects this administration’s short-term priorities—continued investment in oil and gas, and crushing any and all investment or innovation in renewable projects. 

Building Without Guardrails

In addition to spurring investments into oil, the bill permanently restores 100% bonus depreciation for property placed in service after January 19, 2025.  Not only is this is an incredible benefit to corporations, but it provides no benefit to most Americans. It especially incentivizes energy infrastructure providers and data center developers with massive tax breaks. Encouraging them to invest and build faster. We are financially accelerating the systems that support this “pro-growth” agenda and are ignoring the long-term consequences and not asking the right questions, like who is really benefiting from this? Building faster and bigger without guardrails in place is a recipe for disaster. We must grow our economy with guidance and discipline, not unchecked growth for growth’s sake. Especially when that growth is taxpayer-funded. 

The bill also plans to roll back on clean energy, abandoning the fastest and cheapest power: wind and solar. These tax credits are set to terminate by 2027, which could lead to canceled projects and tighter energy supplies just as demand is spiking. While wind and solar are being phased out, the OBBB preserves and even adds resources for nuclear energy (providing support all the way up until the 2030s). Nuclear energy is clean. It is also slow and expensive to bring a nuclear power plant online. And so the OBBB has changed our energy policy and will increase the deficit without the guarantee of long-term economic growth. 

And if none of this hit close to home, this will. The OBBB could increase household energy costs by $170 per year as soon as 2035 and $353 per year by 2040, according to a new analysis by Evergreen Action, a climate policy group. It ends the provisions that made it easier and more affordable for families to install solar panels to lower their utility bills, by eliminating energy-efficiency credits that had helped Americans reduce their bills by an estimated $1,250 per year. And the bill will eliminate 760,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

These cuts to electricity supply come right as we need it most—for the AI boom. Electricity consumption by data centers is likely to more than double by 2035. Notably, Elon Musk’s AI facility in Tennessee reportedly fired up dozens of gas-powered turbines to fuel his own power plant without obtaining any permits or providing public notice. And he is planning to add more data centers and gas turbines. These turbines are major sources of smog in an area already receiving an “F” for ozone pollution. The air quality risks include asthma, respiratory diseases, and cancer. The passage of this bill enabled all of this. Fast-tracking projects and prioritizing speed over regulation is action without worry. 

An Agenda That Endangers American Energy 

Overall, the OBBB prioritizes deregulating energy while accelerating the growth of AI data centers. And that is but a fraction of what it does. We can expect long-term consequences that we are leaving for future generations to solve. It is focused on short-term gain at any cost. And Tom Cole voted for it. He voted to make America the “best” it can be at this given moment, without considering the impact. This bill guts clean energy, gives energy infrastructure providers and data center developers a massive tax break, and makes it easier to “drill baby drill,” creating uncertainty and introducing significant gaps in future energy security. 

We must return to a balanced approach and a diversified generation portfolio. All I ask is that we stop stifling the growth of industries that are not related to oil & gas. I ask for the benefit of ratepayers. For the benefit of the environment. For the benefit of America’s children.