About
Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since November 2018, representing Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District. He ran for reelection in 2022 with Trump’s endorsement and won in his solidly Republican district.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Hern founded a number of small businesses in banking, manufacturing, real estate development, technology, and sports publishing. For more than a decade, he built and ran a network of 24 McDonald’s restaurants throughout northeast Oklahoma
In the House, Hern is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee and chairs its Budget and Spending Task Force. His congressional campaigns have been funded in part by contributions from KochPAC, according to the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).
After the 2020 presidential election, Hern adhered to the GOP playbook by casting doubt on the legitimacy of the process and helping to spread the Big Lie. He objected to certifying the Electoral College win by President Biden and voted against both impeaching Trump for inciting the mob and establishing a special House committee to investigate the insurrection, among other measures
January 6, 2021
- Just hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Hern joined 146 other congressional Republicans in refusing to certify Biden’s win of the 2020 presidential election.
- On Jan. 13, 2021, Hern voted against impeaching Trump for his role in instigating the attack on Congress and the Capitol, and fanning the flames once the riot broke out. In a prepared statement released that day, he wrote: “This hasty rush to impeach a sitting President without any investigations should alarm all of us. President-Elect Biden has repeatedly said he seeks to heal this country—it’s time to do just that. However, today’s action did nothing but harden our divisions even further.”
- On May 19, 2021, Hern voted against establishing a House committee to investigate the attack on the Capitol. Two months later, he fumed in a prepared statement: “Pelosi has once again overstepped as Speaker of the House. There is no longer any pretense that she plans for the Select Committee to be a bipartisan effort, something I—and any American paying attention—knew all along. That’s why I couldn’t vote in favor of the committee in the first place…. we are sick and tired of her political games.”
The Big Lie
- On Nov. 6, 2020, Hern and 38 other House Republicans signed a letter to then Attorney General Bill Barr asking that the Justice Department investigate the presidential election results based on “widespread reports of irregularities.”
- On Dec. 1, 2020, Hern and 36 other House Republicans submitted a follow-up letter to Barr asking that the Justice Department investigate the election due to “a number of anomalies, statistical improbabilities and accusations of fraud” during the voting process.
- On Dec. 10, 2020, Hern signed a Texas amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the results of the election in four swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
- In a prepared statement released the day after the insurrection, Hern justified his vote against certifying Biden’s win by writing: “Despite the disruptive and dangerous acts of criminal rioters, I will not back down. The actions of those bad actors do not change the facts and questions surrounding the 2020 presidential election. I have a duty to stand firm with the millions of Americans across the country who share deep and legitimate concerns about the integrity of our election system and the unconstitutional changes to the election laws in certain states during the presidential election.”