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Oklahoma Senate
History Made as Republican Takes President’s Chair in Oklahoma Senate
Senator Coffee presides as co-president Pro Tempore of the Senate.
History was made in the Oklahoma Senate Tuesday when Republican Senator Glenn Coffee presided over the Oklahoma State Senate’s session.
It was the first time a Republican presided over the evenly-divided Senate as part of the power-sharing agreement adopted last January.
Coffee serves as the Senate’s Co-President Pro Tempore.
Democrats had controlled the Senate since statehood until the 2006 elections, when Republicans gained two seats to create a 24-24 tie in the chamber.
The Senate’s power-sharing agreement calls for Republicans and Democrats to alternate days in the presiding officer’s chair. On days when a Republican is in the chair, a Democrat will serve as floor leader, and vice versa.
