Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome, and he is time now for our community connection right here on K one, the one you trust and in the studio with this here. We caught him coming and going because he's been all over the place, traveling far and wide, because congressional district too is just huge. It's Brandon Wade and he's a Democrat running for CD two.
And first of all, welcome, thank you, nice to be here.
Well, it's great to.
Have you here.
This has been a lot of real estate to cover, hasn't it been for your campaign?
Yeah?
Absolutely, it's the large district. Like I said, it's from the Kansas line to the Red River, so it's a lot of a lot of ground cover. I go from one Das and Copan ended up going all the way down and broken Bow and then back.
Oh my god, wow that like I said, it is a lot. But you're talking to a lot of people. What are you hearing from potential voters? What are they what do they want to have done as a person who would be representing them in Congress.
You're hearing a lot of the main issues you keep hearing.
You know that you know the economy, the cost of pricing for everything, housing, uh, public schools, that's a big, big topic. Women's rights of course is another one that's out there, and just you know, the dysfunctional of the going and getting back to working with one another and not not fighting back and forth actually governing.
That's that's kind of where you differentiate from a lot of people who are either in office are running for office. And I think being into a union negotiator probably helps shape your attitude on that.
Yeah, it definitely is made me who I am. It's you know, I tell everybody I'm a representative. I'm not really a politician. And that's you know, I've learned through the years of doing that how to represent people. You got to be able to listen to people first and forema so you understand what they need, want and then go work for the best deal you can from the
majority of the people you're representing. And that's that's what I'm taking the CD two and trying to get back to Congress where we actually sat down and we agree that you know, we can disagree on what we can't come to and then come to an agreement on other things that work the best.
Take a little bit from both how's your message resonating with people?
I think it's doing fairly well. I mean it seems to be.
Something that people want like and hear as somebody is willing to work with either side regardless of party affiliation. I think a lot of a lot of even traditional Republicans like to hear that. I think it's something that they want to get back to as well, where we govern with one another.
Now, how are the traditional Democrats taking that message?
They seem to be on board.
I mean from what I'm hearing where I'm at, they seem to like the message. So hopefully I hope they are on board, because that's what we got to get back to. We need a balance. We really need to be, you know, fifty to fifty or close to it if we can.
On representation, I mean, it takes both sides to make good quality bills that work for everybody.
Now, you ran for US senator a couple of years ago, that was an experience. You almost find yourself in the runoff there. Yeah, it was, you're like three votes, It definitely was.
I just jumped into that and didn't know what I was doing, and that kind of helped get me ready for what I'm doing now, and it's definitely a little more prepared understand the steps involved in what you got to do.
So it's definitely helped out.
Very good, very good. Now you work in the oil business. But there are a lot of people who may may kind of shake their head a little bit too. Well, wait a second, many people who identify as Democrat have somewhat of an issue with fossil fuel. But I don't think that one size fits all.
No, And it's you know, oil and gas in Oklahoma is a big thing. I mean it's always been. I'm in here more than forty eight eight years now to check and it's yeah, do to math real quick. But it's it's always been a part of my life and it's part of Oklahoma and it's not going away anytime soon. But we do got to move towards you know, more cleaner fuel or cleaner ways of producing it and knowing
about it. And most of our big businesses and corporations in the oil and gas industry are working into that direction to try to figure out a better way to be cleaner. And so we gotta keep working that way while we keep working on better solutions to have cleaner energy out there. But you know, until we can get to that point, you know, we got to do the best that we can with what.
We have and just continue to work to get better. You know.
It's it's something that we do got to address. But you know, wool and gas is not going away anytime soon. It's it's we're too relying on it and there's not enough other stuff yet to do. So you know, we've got to work together in that process. Unders understood.
So you've got a big swath of Oklahoma. Tulsa isn't yet, but you've got to. I guess Bartles was really the the largest city, one of the largest ones that Muskogi would probably be in there too that you're in, but it's.
A lot of rural.
Yeah, ranchers have and people who live in the rural might have a little bit of a different expectation than folks who live with you know, kind of all bunch stuff in the city as to maybe what they want out of Washington, d C.
Are you finding that, Yeah, you hear different subjects with you know, where you're at, on where you're at and who you're talking to, what people want, and it's again taking those things and kind of mixing them together where you can help both sides out.
I'm a rural, rural kid, you know, growing up north up there in Copane out on ten acres, So you know, I understand the farmers and the ranchers, the cattlemen, you know, the people to produce our soybeans.
And all that stuff.
So you know those needs are needed and got to be took care of as well.
Now I'm going to give you the stump right here. I want you to tell everybody why Brandon Way should get your boat.
All right, thank you.
I what I feel is just what I've said before. You know, I'm not a faulties. I'm a representative. I really understand how to represent people. I feel that we're sorely missing that in our Congress right now. We're not able to work with one another, and we need to remove the people that don't want to work with one or the other, be based on party affiliation, and get back to working with the people and representing the people
that you're there to represent. I've done that for over seventeen years with our local union here, and you know, I feel like some may say I've not done so well. Some may say have done a great job, But that's part of it. You never make everybody happy, but it's I feel like I've done a good job for the majority of the body. And that's what I would do
with Oklahoma CD two. I'd represent them as a majority and do the best I can to help bring Republican and Democratic views together to make something better for everybody. So I just feel like I'm a better person at solving solutions to problems, you know, working with one another, reaching across would be across the aisle and then having a conversation that need to be had to create bials.
That's going to work for everybody.
Now, if folks are interested in hearing more about what you've got to or perhaps maybe they want to, you know, maybe assist you here in the last few days coming up to the election. Do you have a Facebook, patro website or maybe both?
Yeah, I got both. I've got a website. Uh that's Brandon for Congress dot com.
You can get on there.
There's a links where you can reach me by email. I think it has even got the phone number of cell number in there you can call. Also got Facebook, I'm on all the social media stuff. You can look me up and find me in there, that's a waited for Oka CD two.
I think on.
Facebook, I think I got my personal I think it's one of my personal accounts. I don't remember, you know, did you change over so many times trying to get the But yeah, you go to those places, reach out
and uh, there's things we can do. You still trying to knock doors when I'm back in this area, or if I'm going to be in an area that you're from in the listening area, if I happen to be in one of your areas and we're knocking doors or doing an event and somebody reaches out to me, Hey, if you want knock the doors, I'm always willing to go hit on some doors and talk to the people
because that's where it's at. You got to be able to have a conversation with the voters out there and let them know that where you are and what you stand for, and answer the questions they need to have answered, you know, because everybody's got issues, and some have different issues than others that are more important to them than the last place you might have been. So you definitely got to hear what everybody has.
That needs to be took care of, you know, when you're talking about your contact points, you even had your phone number on there. It wasn't until and I've lived I'm an old guy. I've lived in a lot of places. But until I moved to Oklahoma, did I ever hear anybody who was in representative government, whether it be city hall, county, state, or even running for a federal office, say yeah, just call me on my phone. Usually you have six layers of people to go through, but here in Oklahoma, they
want to hear. They want to hear directly from the people. I think that's just kind of cool and refreshing.
Yeah, I think it's important.
I mean, if you've got a question, you need to get with somebody that and once I get elected, hopes that I'm getting elected. Once I get elected, you know my staff is going to be told the same thing. Yeah, when the people call, they need to you need to listen to them, and I need to know what they're asking about. I want to take care of that solution, and I'll have to rely on my staff to also help get that took care of.
We need to address those situations.
You say, you grew up in Copan and you're working here in Bartlesville and you've seen about every square inch of c D two. Oklahoma is a beautiful place.
As it is that eastern Oklahoma definitely, that's for sure.
And when you were talking about the economy, what are people really kind of honed in on as far as the economy? Is it the food prices? Is it the rent or what is it? It's really kind of a bug what I hear.
It's it's a combination of both the food prices are too high, utilities, and then housing, you know, the rising costs of housing with the inflation being up and stuff like that. It's starting to them down some, which will help some of that. But you know, people are walking into those mortgage rates that fluctuate.
When that goes up, so does your insurance prices, you know, so it's hitting you on both sides. You know, your your your mortgage rate goes up some and then.
Your in your insurance goes up as well. So it's a combination of all of it. And we've got to sit down and we got to come to.
A solution that works.
And you know, if it's seriously price gouging that's going on, then we need to look at, you know, capping some of these costs and getting back where the American people can get by.
Well, you know, I think you kind of hit it on the head. I think that is like the big thing that folks are worried about. It. It always comes down to the pocketbook. You know, you've got kids, I've got kids. Heck, our kids even went the school together. And we know what that that dinner table thing can be. You got walk coming up, okay, and then you got to kind of get the budget going and seeing where you can make things happen so that everybody can be
taken care of properly and what have you. So this is these are real conversations that are happening at everybody's tables these days.
Yeah.
Absolutely, it's you know, everybody's got to got so much money to work with in the household and they got to make ends meet the way they can sure, and so that's you know, we got to do what we can the best way of that. Our government the same way when we talk about balancing a budget, I mean we need to get back where we balance a budget and we look at our expenses of what we're spending and got our wasteful spending, you know, and get back to being financially responsible.
Wow, that's that's something that I think a lot of people want to hear, you know, is that, Okay, I gotta I gotta fix my check booky come on, uncle Sam Victures show me the way.
So this is great.
And again you can be reached through social media and if you go to the Facebook page or the website, it's got the phone number. There, got an email. And I understand from a lot of folks that you're very responsive. Within the day, you'll get back to them.
Yeah, I tried to. I mean, it's my days are long.
They four in the morning and sometimes don't endntil eleven or twelve a night, So you know, I run on four hours sleep a lot of times. But I'm still working through this process as well. I mean, I can't afford not to work and not to have insurance and benefits. So when I say I'm a worker, man I am I'm lunch.
Hour here with us today, Folks that right now, I'm not. I'm not I'm not lying, am I?
No?
No, I'm excited. I left from work to come here to do this. I'll be right back to work here a little bit and then back on the campaign. Traughout the while. Wow, it's just the finances, aren't you know? I don't have the big donors that a lot of candidates do. I don't have, you know, big donors from
out of state. The biggest donations I've got from out of state would have been through our international They donated to me, and then most everything else comes from small donor you know, normal working class people like us give a little bit here and there.
How big of a factor is dark money played in the campaigns in Oklahoma.
I think it's huge, and I'd like to see that go away.
I don't know how if we really can ever get it pride out out of government or out of our politics, but we're really doing to limit the funding. I would love to see this level of play in field and put it to where this is an X amount that US House can use raise and run on and then just put it there that that's the cap mount and you can't make no more than that and love the best candidate win. I would love to get back to that day, but I don't know that we'll ever see it with way.
Money dig the old genies out of the bottle. Yeah, well, Brandon, I wish you the best of luck. And folks, if you want to have a conversation with Brandon Wade, he's just a phone call away. And once again just check the the social media and the website and you can you can get probably get a pretty good audience with you.
Yeah, reach out to me. Let me know.
I'm read to answer any question people got. If I don't know to answer, I'm gonna tell you I don't know. I mean, we we all don't know everything, and we got to fund research it or find people experts to bring in to help us with those questions.
So very good, Well, good luck to you, and I hope to you real soon.
Thank you.
I told Brandon this is the first time I've seen him sit down in six months, and you said, well, wait a minute, because he does has to get up and go. But thanks for being with us today.
Thank you. I appreciate you all. After some record highs yesterday, we finally get a