Tuttle businessman, volunteer firefighter, father and farmer Lonnie Paxton today announced he will seek the Republican nomination in Senate District 23.
Paxton, a Tuttle native, said he has diverse experience and strong conservative convictions that uniquely qualify him to serve the district, which includes rural farming communities in the south and urban areas in the north.
“I share the conservative values that are part of the fabric of this district,” Paxton said. “If elected, I will boldly resist government that meddles and interferes where it doesn’t belong. I will work to strengthen our schools, increase parental choice, and improve our infrastructure. I am pro-life, pro-business and pro-Second Amendment, and believe like President Reagan that government is best which governs least.
Paxton, who served as chairman of the Grady County Republican Party from 1993 to 1995, is both a farmer and a businessman.
“I grew up in Tuttle on our family farm, and I’m a fourth generation native,” Paxton said. “But my experience and background go beyond agriculture. For nearly two decades, I have been a successful small businessman and a civic leader.”
Paxton has operated an insurance agency for the last 18 years. He also owns and operates a property company, which has renovated several historically significant and high profile buildings in downtown Tuttle.
“While my wife and I have raised our family, I’ve served the community as a volunteer firefighter, mayor and city councilman,” Paxton said. “I have experience leading on issues like infrastructure improvement and job creation.”
Paxton serves on the Grady County Memorial Hospital board of directors, and is a former president of the Tuttle Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Tuttle High School and the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a degree in law enforcement administration in 1990.
“I want government to incentivize hard work, wise investment and personal responsibility,” Paxton said. “Also, I believe our schools are best when they are governed by teachers and parents in the community, not bureaucrats in Oklahoma City or Washington, D.C.”
Paxton and his wife, Misti, have been married 24 years. They have four children, including Seth, 20, Addison, 17, Ethan, 13 and Lillie-Beth, 10. Mrs. Paxton is a second grade schoolteacher at Tuttle Public Schools, where the three youngest children attend.
