Oklahoma Almost Had A President in the White House

In the 248-year history of the United States of America, 21 different states have produced the 46 presidents who have held that office. Oklahoma isn't one of those states... however, back in the tumultuous 1970s, it almost was.

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Weirdly enough, Oklahoma's path to the White House wasn't one of campaigning to a nomination. There was no vote for a Sooner State son to be elected to the highest office in the world. Instead, it was a wild ride that started with the downfall of President Richard M. Nixon.

While it may depend on your age and when your education took place, surely you've heard the tale of the infamous 1972 Watergate Scandal. It was a series of scandals, most notably the Watergate Hotel break-in involving former CIA operatives to spy within the DNC DC headquarters.

The story actually starts prior to Nixon's downfall as the investigations into the scandal evolved. As the Department of Justice worked through the political mess, extra scrutiny was put on then-Vice President Spiro Agnew. He had nothing to do with Watergate, but by association, he was under the microscope.

As political bribes and kickbacks were uncovered, he ultimately made the decision (was pressured) to step down and resign his position in 1973.

If you're old enough to have taken Civics in high school, you likely know about the executive line of succession... Needing a Vice President, the Speaker of the House is first on that particular list.

Enter Oklahoma's Carl Albert.

Carl Albert was the representative from Oklahoma's 3rd Congressional District, first elected to Congress in 1947. He served in the House of Representatives for thirty full years, in his last term as the 46th Speaker of the House - AKA - first in line to become Nixon's replacement Vice President, but he never made it to that office.

If he was first in line, why didn't he become Vice President?

Many pundits and political science scholars have speculated over the years that Albert simply did not want that position.

Firstly, Carl Albert was an elected Sooner State Democrat... Surely he did not want to be second-chair to a Republican president.

Second, a savvy politician and powerful Washington insider, he knew the executive administration was headed down the drain, but likely didn't know it would end in his own presidency when Nixon shocked the world by resigning a year later in 1974.

In that moment, Oklahoma's Carl Albert would have become the 38th President of the United States of America.

The VP job ultimately went to future-president Gerald Ford.

Has anyone from Oklahoma ever run for the highest office in the US?

Yes. Two Oklahomans for sure... this is so wild.

The first time a Sooner State politician ran for president, it was straight out of the Wild West. The name was William H. Murray, but you may have heard of him by his other name - Alfalfa Bill.

He was not a cattle rustler nor a bank robber, but a lawyer and alfalfa farmer who moved to Tishomingo, Indian Territory a full decade before Oklahoma gained statehood. He grew an astounding mustache and practiced law within the Chickasaw courts.

With ample political aspiration and clout, he served in the Oklahoma House of Representative, the US House of Representatives, and served as the 9th Governor of Oklahoma before running an unsuccessful bid for the White House in 1932.

He lost the Democratic nomination to four-term Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Who was the other Oklahoma presidential candidate?

The Tiger King - Joe Exotic.