Scott Pruitt, Former EPA Leader, Files for Oklahoma Senate Run

Scott Pruitt, an EPA administrator under former President Donald Trump, has filed to run in the coming special election to replace retiring Sen. James Inhofe (R).

If Pruitt wins in November, Senate Republicans will have essentially replaced one high-profile proponent of environmental deregulation with another.

Although Pruitt’s 17-month tenure at the Environmental Protection Agency was plagued by a series of public scandals—many of which concerned his personal conduct while in office—he remains popular in Oklahoma, according to Hudson Talley, a political consultant at Ascend Action in Oklahoma City.

“People still like him,” said Talley, a former strategist for Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) 2016 presidential bid.

Much of Pruitt’s favorability stems from the fact that many voters see him as a Trump loyalist, Talley said. General election voters in Oklahoma strongly supported Trump’s presidential bids in 2016 and 2020.

Pruitt’s scandals also aren’t likely to hurt him among Republican voters, Talley said.

Pruitt’s critics also weighed in.

“Scott Pruitt was one of the most corrupt members, if not the most corrupt member, of the Trump Administration,” Oberlin College political science professor Miranda Yaver tweeted. “And that’s saying something.”

Former Politician

Pruitt won races to serve in the Oklahoma Senate in 1998 and as attorney general in 2010. He lost a 2001 House bid for Congress and a 2006 lieutenant governor race.

Only two other declared Republican candidates—Rep. Markwayne Mullin and former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon—share the same level of recognition, Talley said.

The Republican primary will be held June 28, followed by a runoff election on August 23 of the top two vote-getters.

Trump’s other EPA administrator, Andrew Wheeler, is now an adviser to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).

Travel and Spending

Pruitt drew fire—and at least a dozen formal investigations—for frequent travel to his home state of Oklahoma, questionable spending decisions at the EPA, raises for two top aides, and accusations some employees were sidelined after challenging the administrator’s decisions.

Disclosures also revealed the extent to which Pruitt enlisted aides to conduct an array of personal errands, including helping him find housing in Washington, buying a second-hand mattress from the Trump International Hotel, and pursuing a Chick-fil-A Inc. franchise for his wife.

At least five political appointees, including three longtime Pruitt allies, left the agency as allegations mounted.

Another member of Trump’s environmental team who resigned amid scandal—former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke—is also running for Congress, seeking to return to the House in Montana’s newly created 2nd District.