Nancy Riley

Nancy Riley
Member of the Oklahoma Senate from the 37th district
In office November 2000 – 2008
Preceded by	Lewis Long
Succeeded by	Dan Newberry
Personal details
Born	1958 (age 52–53) Tulsa, Oklahoma
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Jerry Riley
Alma mater	Langston University
Profession	educator
Religion	Christian

Nancy C. Riley represented Oklahoma State Senate District 37 which is located in Tulsa County and includes Bixby, Jenks, Lotsee, Tulsa and Sand Springs from 2000 to 2008. Riley grew up in Tulsa and graduated from Edison High School. She attended Oklahoma Christian College for three years, then married and started a family. Riley's first husband died from a brain tumor. During that time Riley was forced to live on food stamps. She later graduated from Langston University and began teaching elementary school in the Tulsa Public Schools system.^[1]

State Senate

Riley was elected as a Republican in 2000 and re-elected in 2004 still as a Republican. In 2006 Riley ran for the office of Lt. Governor as a Republican where she came in third and received 41,984 votes or 23.46%.^[2] Her showing was strong enough to force a runoff between House Speaker Todd Hiett and Senator Scott Pruitt.

Following the July 25 primary Riley surprised everyone when she announced that she was switching parties to become a Democrat. Before she switched parties the Democrats had a slim one seat margin in the Senate, illustrating the importance of her move. She felt that moderates like herself were no longer relevant in the Republican party, although many say personality conflicts with the Party were more important.^[3]

The driving force in my decision is that no one in leadership is listening to moderates in the Oklahoma Republican Party.^[4]

In April 2007 GOP Senate leader Glenn Coffee saw defeating Riley as the top priority in 2008. Democrats have made it a top priority to retain Riley. Riley said after the 2007 legislative session that she feels more independent in the Democratic caucus, and can vote her own way rather than the party line.^[5] Riley served as Democratic Whip, Co-Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Services, and on the Appropriation, Education, Transportation, and Retirement and Insurance committees.^[6]

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, Senator Riley's bid for a third term in the state Senate ended when she was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, Tulsa businessman Dan Newberry.^[7]

Election results

General Election November 4, 2008^[8]

Candidate		Votes	%
	Dan Newberry	23,059	63.43%
	Nancy Riley	13,292	36.57%

General Election November 7, 2004^[9]

Candidate		Votes	%
	Nancy Riley	22,327	65.33%
	Dan Giddens	11,847	34.67%

General Election November 2, 2000^[10]

Candidate		Votes	%
	Nancy Riley	12,641	50.53%
	Lewis Long	12,376	49.47%

References

1. ^ State Senator Nancy Riley Background
2. ^ "2006 Primary Results". State Election Board. Archived from the original on 2006-12-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20061218162303/http://www.ok.gov/~elections/06pri.html. Retrieved 2007-04-08. 
3. ^ "Senator bolts 'abhorrent' GOP". Barbra Hoberock and Mick Hinton: Tulsa World. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-127132130.html. Retrieved 2007-04-08. 
4. ^ State Senator Nancy Riley Changes Party Registration
5. ^ Barbara Hoberock (6/3/2007). "GOP-turned-Dem senator reflects on past session". Tulsa World. http://tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070603_1_A18_spanc84247. Retrieved 2007-06-14. 
6. ^ Nancy Riley -- Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project
7. ^ GOP Takes Control of Oklahoma Senate, Tulsa World, Nov. 4, 2008.
8. ^ "2008 General Results". State Election Board. http://www.elections.state.ok.us/08gen.html. Retrieved 2008-11-05. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ "2004 General Results". State Election Board. Archived from the original on 2007-04-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20070402075001/http://www.ok.gov/~elections/04gen.html. Retrieved 2007-04-08. 
10. ^ "2000 General Results". State Election Board. Archived from the original on 2006-11-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20061126122752/http://www.ok.gov/~elections/00gensum.html. Retrieved 2007-04-08. 

External links

• Nancy Riley for State Senate official campaign website
• Follow the Money - Nancy Riley
  • 2008 2006 2004 2000 State Senate campaign contributions
  • 2006 Lt. Governor campaign contributions

Persondata
Name	Riley, Nancy
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1958
Place of birth	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Date of death
Place of death