Kituwah Press Endorses Hannah Cole for Oklahoma House District 86
The following represents the editorial position of this outlet
STILWELL, Okla. — The following represents the editorial position of this outlet.
Kituwah Press endorses Democrat Hannah Cole for Oklahoma House District 86.
District 86 covers Adair County and portions of Cherokee, Mayes and Delaware counties, one of the poorest and most rural regions in the state. Stilwell Memorial Hospital closed its inpatient services in 2025, leaving county residents to travel to Tahlequah, Sallisaw or Siloam Springs for hospital care. Broadband access remains limited across large sections of the district. Nearly half the district’s population is Native American.
Cole was raised in Northeast Oklahoma on a small family farm and worked alongside her grandparents on their dairy operation. She has worked as a geriatric nurse for more than a decade. Following her father’s death in 2024, she cared for him in his final illness before returning to his land in Adair County.
Cole has stated that rural homelessness exists in District 86 and takes a different form than its urban counterpart — overcrowded households and informal arrangements among relatives rather than visible unsheltered populations. She has argued the underlying causes mirror those in urban areas, differing mainly in visibility.
Cole has said parents who choose private schools should be free to make that choice, but she does not support the state’s school voucher initiative. She has said public education funding should stay with public schools, a position she argues benefits districts like those in Adair County.
At the Adair County Democrats’ “Meet the Candidates” event July 20 at the Mid-County Community Building, Cole was asked a question during the Q&A session that she could not immediately answer. She said so directly, then returned with a substantive answer before the event concluded.
Cole campaigns under the slogan “Values Over Party.” She has said her candidacy is not built around partisan labels, and that she intends to represent every constituent in the district, regardless of how they vote. She has framed her candidacy around a single question: whether Oklahoma, ranked near the bottom nationally on multiple measures of health, education and infrastructure, deserves better outcomes for its residents.
Cole has not previously held elected office. Her record in office remains unestablished. Her background as a caregiver, both professionally and within her own family, and her direct engagement with the district’s economic conditions inform this endorsement.
Kituwah Press endorses Democrat Hannah Cole for Oklahoma House District 86.
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