Youngest Oklahoma State Senator Joseph Silk: District’s First Conservative

If you’re looking for a grassroots success story, meet State Senator Joseph W. Silk of Broken Bow, Oklahoma who, at the age of 29, is the youngest member of the Oklahoma state senate. His journey began in 2011 when Silk’s father, Joe, ran to represent their district in the state House of Representatives and was defeated.

I spoke with the senator’s father about the family’s political involvement. Joe attended an American Majority Oklahoma training in 2012 with a friend who was looking at running for state Senate. He remembers that the training helped to re-motivate him since he had just been defeated.

“The excellent presentations helped us establish better organization in the state,” said Joe, who was highly involved in his son’s campaign.

When Joe gave up on trying to beat this opponent, Joseph entered the 2014 race. The candidate who defeated Joe ran unopposed once and, having had a full year in Oklahoma House of Representatives, decided to run for state Senate. Not many expected Joseph W. Silk to win the primary against this incumbent opponent.

But Joseph ran a strategic grassroots campaign and won with over 54 percent of the vote, becoming the youngest member of the Oklahoma State Senate, and the first Republican in the history of Oklahoma to represent his district.

“We didn’t do a lot of phone calling, but focused on personal interaction,” said Joseph’s father.

The Silks have gone on to prevent encroachments on rights. Father and son both want the state government to be as strong as possible and able to say ‘no’ to the federal government. As they got more involved in Oklahoma politics, they became discouraged at how uneducated many Americans are as to what is going on in state and local politics.

“Seeing all the noninvolvement is a warning sign that things won’t get better until people are more educated,” said Joe. “Family issues are tackled at the state level. Federal events are important, but people need to bring their vision down to the state level because that’s where change comes from.”

Joseph W. Silk is passionate about conservative topics such as states rights, right to life, sanctity of marriage, and the importance of family. However, when Joseph tried to introduce a bill this year protecting business owners who oppose same-sex marriage, he met with intense animosity.

“We were slammed with hate,” said Joe.

When asked for his advice on campaigning, Joe told us, “Be very prepared for the long haul. Make sure you’ve got the time and the resources for it. A lot of people talk about what they will do but never do it.”

Joe also stressed the importance of hard work.

“It’s a big commitment, especially financially. It is imperative to get as many committed supporters of all kinds as possible. It is essential to be very familiar with the issues and how they affect the locality. Be thoroughly familiar with your opponent’s information. A candidate needs to be focused and have his agenda lined up just like Joseph did. Don’t jump around or be wishy-washy. People appreciated Joseph because he was very upfront and honest with them,” said Joe.

Joe is inspired when younger generations run for office.
“It’s encouraging to see young conservatives [stand] firm in their beliefs. Stay active, stay involved, stay informed,” says Joe. “It seems like we don’t have a say, but it’s amazing what a small group can do.”

Recently, Joseph received word that he has been awarded the Senate Freshman of the the Year award from the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC).  He will be receiving that award in February of 2016 at the beginning of the next legislative session.