Jim Inhofe obit

Oklahoma's former US Sen. Jim Inhofe dies after lengthy political career

 

He was not on the list.

Former U.S. Sen Jim Inhofe, whose political career in Oklahoma spanned six decades, has died, sources confirmed Tuesday morning. He was 89.

Inhofe had been in the Senate since late 1994 and is the longest-serving U.S. senator in Oklahoma history. Before the Senate, he was a member of the U.S. House for eight years.

He spent four years as mayor of Tulsa and 10 years in the Oklahoma Legislature. He was the Republican nominee for governor in 1974 but lost to Democrat David Boren, the man he would later succeed in the Senate.

Inhofe, the definition of a career politician, officially retired in 2022, attributing the decision partly to the lingering effects of COVID-19.

Asked whether politics was an honorable profession, Inhofe previously told The Oklahoman, “I think it is.”

He served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest serving U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He served in various elected offices in the state of Oklahoma for nearly sixty years, between 1966 and 2023.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1934, Inhofe moved with his parents to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1942. His father, Perry Inhofe, was an owner of insurance companies and his mother, Blanche Inhofe (née Mountain), was a Tulsa socialite. Jim was a high school track star and graduated from Central High School. He went on to briefly attend the University of Colorado before finishing his college degree at the University of Tulsa. He was drafted to the United States Army in 1956 and served between 1957 and 1958. He became vice-president of his father's insurance company in 1961 and president after his father's death in 1970.

Inhofe was an elected official representing the Tulsa area for nearly three decades. He represented parts of Tulsa in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1966 to 1969 and the Oklahoma Senate from 1969 to 1977. During his time in the state legislature he was known for feuding with the Democratic Party's state leadership, particularly Governor David Hall and state treasurer Leo Winters, and spearheading the movement to bring the USS Batfish to Oklahoma. While a state senator, he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Oklahoma in the 1974 election and the U.S. House in 1976. He was elected to three terms as the Mayor of Tulsa, serving between 1978 and 1984. He served in the United States House of Representatives representing Oklahoma's 1st congressional district from 1987 to 1994; he resigned after his election to the United States Senate.

Inhofe chaired the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2015 to 2017. Inhofe served as acting chairman of the Armed Services Committee between December 2017 and September 6, 2018, while John McCain fought cancer. After McCain's death, he became chairman and served until February 3, 2021. From February 3, 2021, to January 3, 2023, he served as Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. During his Senate career he was known for his rejection of climate science, his support of constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage, and the Inhofe Amendment to make English the national language of the United States.

James Mountain Inhofe was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on November 17, 1934, the son of Blanche (née Mountain) and Perry Dyson Inhofe.

His father was also active in the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce and YMCA; and he was the official sponsor of Miss Tulsa and Miss Oklahoma winner Louise O'Brien in 1950. His mother was a Tulsa socialite and hosted guests such as Johnston Murray.

In 1956, he received a draft letter from the United States Army and he served from 1957 to 1958. He attained the rank of Specialist 4th Class and spent most of his service performing quartermaster duties at Fort Lee, Virginia. In 1961, his father formed a new life insurance company, Quaker Insurance, and Inhofe was appointed vice president. On June 17, 1970, Perry Inhofe died of a heart attack; Inhofe became president of Quaker Life Insurance and vice president of Mid-Continental Casualty Co. and Oklahoma Surety Co., while his brother Perry Jr. became president of Mid-Continental and Surety and vice president of Quaker Life.

After Inhofe had already announced his campaign for the Oklahoma Senate, Beauchamp Selman announced he would not seek re-election, creating an open seat for the 1968 election. He faced Madison J. Bowers, who was endorsed by the Political Action Committee of Educators, in the Republican primary election. He won the primary and faced Democratic nominee Jerry L. Goodman in the general election. Governor Dewey Bartlett knocked doors with Inhofe during his campaign and he later won the general election. After winning the special election, Republican party officials began considering Inhofe as a potential future U.S. Senate candidate.