DALLAS —
For years, T.W. Shannon served in the Oklahoma state legislature, rising to ultimately be the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives; from his vantage points in Oklahoma City, he had a front row seat to “the Oklahoma standard and the Oklahoma story.”
At the first-ever midterm Republican National Convention (RNC), Shannon shocked the nation, explaining what those successes in Oklahoma looked like, and how the rest of America can learn from them. In Oklahoma, he explained, “we’re creating jobs, [] we’re lowering taxes, [and] we’re growing prosperity and wealth in the state… I’m always excited to take that message out; [] I specifically was asked to talk about what we’re doing in terms of school choice and how that’s making a difference in the lives of so many children.”
“Wealthy people have always had the choice of where to send their kids to school,” Shannon explained. “Oklahoma has led the way in allowing people of all socioeconomic backgrounds to have that opportunity. I was excited to talk about that and to talk about how the Trump administration has been a partner there too at the federal level.”
Shannon’s prescription for how the rest of America can learn from Oklahoma comes down to one letter, repeated three times. “It goes back to what made America great to start with,” Shannon explained. “I call it the three Cs: it’s capitalism, it’s the Constitution, and it’s Christianity. That’s what made America great to start with. It’s going to make America great moving forward, and Donald Trump is preaching that message.”
For Shannon, “the proof is in the pudding” when it comes to Oklahoma’s lessons for the rest of America. “When you think about what’s happening nationally with the Democratic Party, and how it’s been completely overtaken by the DSA, where you got socialists — which frankly is just a precursor to communism, the contrast is clear. You have socialists embracing these Marxist ideas that actually limit freedom. They limit prosperity.”
“Republicans in Oklahoma, like myself, are talking about how we expand freedom, how we expand liberty, and that’s what we are going to continue to do,” he added. “That’s what distinguishes us from these radical Democrats who, frankly, have fallen to socialism. The proof is in the pudding. Look at where the country’s headed; look at what made America great to start with. It’s not big government. It’s actually reliance on the private sector, churches, and communities. And strong schools are a big part of that as well.”
In contrast, Shannon said to simply “go back a few years ago when President Trump was running for re-election, and the Democrats looked as if, with Joe Biden in office, you had them trying to put men in girls’ sports. They were working on expanding H-1B visas, and they were denigrating the wall that President Trump had started. They were trying to fulfill Obama’s mission of fundamentally changing America. Well, thank God President Trump won in 2024 because we saw a complete validation that Americans aren’t ready to start giving transition surgeries to minors. That was something that the American people rejected by President Trump’s winning.”
Oklahoma Republicans, by contrast, believe that “the greater the freedom, the greater the prosperity,” Shannon explained. “Think about starting in Nebraska, going south to Texas, running through Oklahoma, and then go all the way east to Florida. That’s really the power grid of our country. That’s what’s powering this country around the world. It’s because of energy.”
“Oklahoma has some core competencies,” Shannon noted. “We know how to drill for oil and gas. We understand farming and ranching. We understand aerospace, and we have a big contingent of tribal enterprises; those are our core competencies. We were able, when I was Speaker of the House, to drill down on those and to continue expanding economic opportunity across Oklahoma. Because ultimately, that’s what you need. If you’re like me and you’re conservative, you believe in smaller government, lower taxes. You’re never going to be on the stump talking about raising taxes because we’re not going to raise taxes, so if you want more taxpayers, you can’t have more taxes. I’d rather have more taxpayers than more taxes, and that’s how you grow your tax base.”
“Capital is a coward,” Shannon added. “It will not flow to a hostile environment. You’ve got to keep it, frankly, as business-friendly as possible. That’s how things started growing in Oklahoma, and we’re just getting started.”
Oklahoma, he explained, is “the benchmark for the rest of the country. Oil and gas are the lifeblood of Oklahoma’s economy, in a lot of ways, historically they have been, and we’ve diversified a lot over the last 15 to 20 years.”
“But ultimately, America is still powered by energy, and that’s why pushing against all of these measures like the Green New Deal that would frankly handcuff America and give a huge advantage to our enemies is so important,” Shannon added, putting his energy policies in national security terms as well. “It’s almost as if the radical left thinks that our military could just wait for a good breeze or if our Navy could wait for some good breeze to go launch a ship. The reality is, our military is fueled by natural resources that America has. And fortunately, God’s blessed us with every natural resource known to mankind. We just have to be good stewards of it, and and use the resources we were given in an efficient way, and that’s what the Trump administration has done. That’s what we’ve done in Oklahoma. We’ve led the way on those technologies, like fracking and other horizontal drilling. Those were Oklahoma technologies in a lot of ways, and we completely extended it.”
While Shannon is quick to note Oklahoma’s economic contributions to the rest of America, he said that Oklahoma native Toby Keith is another one of his favorite Oklahoma exports.
“Toby lived not too far from from his hometown of Moore, and what he’s meant as a patriot, is inspirational,” Shannon said. “Frankly, what he did after 9/11, when he came out with the theme song that helped this country rally around what was great about this country.”
Below is a transcript of our interview with T.W. Shannon, lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
T.W., you spoke at the RNC from the main stage last night; you are running for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma. Tell me why was it important for you to come here to Texas.
T.W. Shannon:
First of all, it’s an honor being with you, my friend. I’ve been a big fan of yours for a long time. It’s important to come and talk about the Oklahoma standard and the Oklahoma story, about how we’re creating jobs, how we’re lowering taxes, how we’re growing prosperity and wealth in the state, is an honor. I’m always excited to take that message out; last night I specifically was asked to talk about what we’re doing in terms of school choice and how that’s making a difference in the lives of so many children. Wealthy people have always had the choice of where to send their kids to school. Oklahoma has led the way in allowing people of all socioeconomic backgrounds to have that opportunity. I was excited to talk about that and to talk about how the Trump administration has been a partner there too at the federal level.
Washington Reporter:
You gave one of the most anticipated speeches of last night, but what did you make of President Trump’s?
T.W. Shannon:
He knocked out the park as always. The president knows his audience, and he knows his crowd. What I love about the president, first of all, is his stamina: the ability to stand up there. I did five minutes. I was worn out and needed to sleep for the next 12 hours. But the president, he went for an hour and a half; that would be 90 minutes, and within that 90 minutes, he covered so many broad policy issues. Yes, he’s an entertainer. The guy knows how to give a speech. He knows how to keep a crowd entertained. But he’s talking about some real policy that’s going to make the difference in the lives of Americans, how you continue to make America great, how you win and end the war in Iran, and frankly, how you allow Americans to keep more money in their pockets; that’s what he was talking about. I think that’s a message that will resonate for the midterms.
Washington Reporter:
You were talking about the war with Iran; during your speech, and on the campaign trail, you also talk about a cultural war in America, and you addressed that with the three Cs in your speech last night. What does this culture war mean to you, and how is Oklahoma positioned to win it?
T.W. Shannon:
Go back a few years ago when President Trump was running for re-election, and the Democrats looked as if, with Joe Biden in office, you had them trying to put men in girls’ sports. They were working on expanding H-1B visas, and they were denigrating the wall that President Trump had started. They were trying to fulfill Obama’s mission of fundamentally changing America. Well, thank God President Trump won in 2024 because we saw a complete validation that Americans aren’t ready to start giving transition surgeries to minors. That was something that the American people rejected by President Trump’s winning, and it goes back to what made America great to start with. I call it the three Cs: it’s capitalism, it’s the Constitution, and it’s Christianity. That’s what made America great to start with. It’s going to make America great moving forward, and Donald Trump is preaching that message.
Washington Reporter:
Can you talk about how, during your time as Speaker of the Legislature of the State House in Oklahoma, you laid the groundwork for some of the wins that Oklahoma has been able to put up, and how this ties into your current campaign to be lieutenant governor?
T.W. Shannon:
The greater the freedom, the greater the prosperity. Think about starting in Nebraska, going south to Texas, running through Oklahoma, and then go all the way east to Florida. That’s really the power grid of our country. That’s what’s powering this country around the world. It’s because of energy. Oklahoma has some core competencies. We know how to drill for oil and gas. We understand farming and ranching. We understand aerospace, and we have a big contingent of tribal enterprises; those are our core competencies. We were able, when I was Speaker of the House, to drill down on those and to continue expanding economic opportunity across Oklahoma. Because ultimately, that’s what you need. If you’re like me and you’re conservative, you believe in smaller government, lower taxes. You’re never going to be on the stump talking about raising taxes because we’re not going to raise taxes, so if you want more taxpayers, you can’t have more taxes. I’d rather have more taxpayers than more taxes, and that’s how you grow your tax base. Capital is a coward; it will not flow to a hostile environment. You’ve got to keep it, frankly, as business-friendly as possible. That’s how things started growing in Oklahoma, and we’re just getting started.
Washington Reporter:
You were talking about drilling down metaphorically, but on the campaign trail, you and other candidates of both parties hear about energy prices and how they’ve gone up. What can Oklahoma specifically do to help lower the price of energy in America?
T.W. Shannon:
We’re the benchmark for the rest of the country. Oil and gas are the lifeblood of Oklahoma’s economy, in a lot of ways, historically they have been, and we’ve diversified a lot over the last 15 to 20 years. But ultimately, America is still powered by energy, and that’s why pushing against all of these measures like the Green New Deal that would frankly handcuff America and give a huge advantage to our enemies is so important. It’s almost as if the radical left thinks that our military could just wait for a good breeze or if our Navy could wait for some good breeze to go launch a ship. The reality is, our military is fueled by natural resources that America has. And fortunately, God’s blessed us with every natural resource known to mankind. We just have to be good stewards of it, and and use the resources we were given in an efficient way, and that’s what the Trump administration has done. That’s what we’ve done in Oklahoma. We’ve led the way on those technologies, like fracking and other horizontal drilling. Those were Oklahoma technologies in a lot of ways, and we completely extended it.
Washington Reporter:
I want to get a sense of your race in particular. To the extent that people outside of Oklahoma are looking at Oklahoma elections, they’ve seen the Senate race, where the Democrat running there filmed herself decapitating Markwayne Mullin. This Democrat is your opponent’s running mate at the top of the ticket. What is your case to voters to make sure that Oklahoma keeps a Republican lieutenant governor for the next four or eight years?
T.W. Shannon:
The proof is in the pudding. When you think about what’s happening nationally with the Democratic Party, and how it’s been completely overtaken by the DSA, where you got socialists — which frankly is just a precursor to communism, the contrast is clear. You have socialists embracing these Marxist ideas that actually limit freedom. They limit prosperity. Republicans in Oklahoma, like myself, are talking about how we expand freedom, how we expand liberty, and that’s what we are going to continue to do. That’s what distinguishes us from these radical Democrats who, frankly, have fallen to socialism. The proof is in the pudding. Look at where the country’s headed; look at what made America great to start with. It’s not big government. It’s actually reliance on the private sector, churches, and communities. And strong schools are a big part of that as well.
Washington Reporter:
Oklahoma has given America a lot of country singers. Do you have a favorite one?
T.W. Shannon:
I’d probably have to go with Toby Keith; Toby lived not too far from from his hometown of Moore, and what he’s meant as a patriot, is inspirational. Frankly, what he did after 9/11, when he came out with the theme song that helped this country rally around what was great about this country.
Washington Reporter:
As we’ve been standing here, people have recognized you from your appearances on Newsmax, and on the Right Squad in particular. In between your stints in government, you spent a lot of time doing media. How has that impacted your campaign?
T.W. Shannon:
If you can’t communicate, you can’t lead. That’s just the fundamental of communication. I’ve been blessed. I’ve been in a number of roles, whether it was when I was a bank CEO, or when I was Speaker of the House, or even when I was serving in the Trump administration as a senior advisor, I’ve been in a number of roles that allowed me to pull together coalitions, bring people together and find solutions, and that’s really what it’s about. That’s what I learned when I was hosting there and hosting with you on Newsmax. It’s an honor to get to talk about what’s important in America, to talk about what’s great, but also to talk about the challenges we have. I’m an optimist, but I’m also a realist about the challenges we face, and they’re real in this country. And we have to have leaders who are serious about solving those problems, but who also can communicate and build coalitions. And that’s why I decided to run for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma. This country, the state of Oklahoma, have been extraordinarily good to me, and I just believe that to whom much is given, much is required. I just want to find a way to make sure that I am adding value.
Washington Reporter:
Editor’s prerogative. They’re going to be lucky to have you in that role.
T.W. Shannon:
All right, I hope you will put that in writing.
Washington Reporter:
I will. I will put that in writing.
