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A new chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party was elected Sunday to lead the party through the 2020 elections.
Alicia Andrews, a Tulsa realtor, was elected after two ballots. Mrs. Andrews became the first Black to head the state Democrats and to head any state political party. An officer with the Tulsa County Democratic Party, Mrs. Andrews was initially declared the winner by 12 votes on Saturday, but questions arose on the validity of those results. Democrats approved a new party leader Sunday after a tabulation error spurred confusion about the election results. The confusion started when the number of votes cast in the election was higher than the number of delegates in attendance combined with the number of proxy votes from those who couldn’t attend the convention. But party leaders on Sunday said their delegate count was incorrect, which is why the numbers didn’t add up. The original voting results, including Mrs. Andrews’ victory, were correct, they said. Democrats at the party’s state convention did not revote Sunday. Instead, they quickly certified the election results again. With the vote official, Mrs. Andrews called for members of the party to unify. The election confusion may be a sore spot for some Democrats, but the party needs to put that aside and look ahead to the 2020 election cycle, she said. “The truth of the matter is we’re all Democrats that want to get Democrats elected,” she said. Andrews beat Christine Byrd, the party’s outreach director, by a vote of 287 to 275. Mrs. Byrd plans to remain involved in the party despite her loss. Now is the time for the party to mend so Democrats can go into 2020 with new energy and vigor to win elections, Mrs. Byrd said. She said she would not challenge the results. A third candidate seeking the chairmanship dropped out just before Saturday’s election. Mrs. Andrews also clinched a historic victory Sunday by becoming the first woman to ..To read more, subscribe to the blackchronicle newspaper
