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Todd Thomsen

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Todd Thomsen
Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
from the 25th district
In office
2007–2018
Preceded byBob Plunk
Succeeded byRonny Johns
Personal details
Born (1967-06-24) June 24, 1967 (age 57)
Oklahoma
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMelanie Thomsen
ChildrenMenee
Aneli
Tyde
Tovant
Tal (deceased)
ResidenceAda, Oklahoma
Alma materUniversity of Oklahoma

Todd M. Thomsen (born June 24, 1967) is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Thomsen served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives as the Majority Whip and represented District 25 from 2006 to 2018.

Early life and career

Thomsen was a punter and kicker for the Oklahoma Sooners football team from 1985 to 1988 and was part of OU's 1985 national championship team.[1] He graduated with bachelor's degree in 1989."[2] He currently serves as Coordinator for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.[2]

Political career

Thomsen was elected in 2006 after he won against Democrat Darrell Nemecek by two votes.[1][3][4] In 2008, Thomsen ran for reelection "in order to continue working to improve education, keep taxes low, and represent conservative values in the Legislature".[5] He was reelected in November 2008 and served in the House as a member of the House Education Committee, and the chair of the House Higher Education and Career Tech Committee.[6]

He has proposed and supported antievolution resolutions in Oklahoma.[7] In 2009, he gained international attention when he introduced House Resolution 1014 and 1015 on March 9, 2009 opposing University of Oklahoma's invitation of evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins.[8][9][10] Subsequently, Dawkins spoke before a crowd in McCasland Field House at the university about the proposal and said "I am aware that representative Todd Thomsen is not representative of the state of Oklahoma".[11] With the adjournment of the Oklahoma House of Representatives in May 2009, the Resolutions are presumably dead.[12]

In March 2009, Thomsen was appointed to the Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Advisory Committee whose purpose "is to enhance scientific and engineering research and development conducted at universities in the state and by doing so enhance the success of Oklahoma researchers in federal award competitions through a partnership of higher education institutions, independent research entities, industry and state government."[13]

Election history

Results from the Oklahoma State Election Board.[14]
November 7, 2006, Election results for Oklahoma State Representative for District 25
Candidates Party Votes %
Todd Thomsen Republican Party 4,798 50%
Darrell Nemecek Democratic Party 4,796 50%
Source: [1]
November 4, 2008, Election results for Oklahoma State Representative for District 25
Candidates Party Votes %
Todd Thomsen Republican Party 7,187 53%
Gary Starns Democratic Party 6,473 47%
Source: [2]

District

Oklahoma House District 25 encompasses much of Pontotoc County and portions of McClain County and Pottawatomie County. The biggest city in the district is Ada, Oklahoma.

References

  1. ^ a b "State House candidate to seek recount of two-vote loss". USA Today. November 9, 2006. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Representative Todd Thomsen (OK)". Vote Smart. 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  3. ^ "State Single votes add up to win elections". Edmond Sun. November 11, 2006. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  4. ^ Mock, Jennifer (November 23, 2006). "Recount winner sworn in". Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  5. ^ "Thomsen to run again". Ada Evening News. June 5, 2008. Archived from the original on November 2, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  6. ^ "Oklahoma House of Representatives Listing". Oklahoma House of Representatives. 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  7. ^ "Antievolution resolutions introduced in Oklahoma". National Center for Science Education. March 7, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  8. ^ "Dawkins lecture draws thousands at OU". Norman Transcript. March 7, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  9. ^ "Darwin backer's talk draws foes". The Oklahoman. March 7, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  10. ^ "State lawmaker files evolution resolutions". Tulsa World. March 7, 2009. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  11. ^ "Richard Dawkins at the University of Oklahoma - Introduction". Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. March 7, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  12. ^ "Antievolution resolutions dead in Oklahoma". National Center for Science Education. May 22, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  13. ^ "Thomsen appointed to EPSCoR advisory committee". Ada Evening News. March 9, 2009. Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  14. ^ 2006 Election Statistics and 2008 Election Statistics Archived 2008-11-07 at the Wayback Machine from the Oklahoma State Election Board
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