With the US Senate split at a perilous 50/50 balance, Oklahoma GOP-centric lawmakers are now trying to figure out what to do if old Senator Senile Jim Inhofe suddenly departs the mortal realm – and the US Senate – for his waterfront vacation home at Grand Lake O' The Hades in the Netherworld.
Via the AP:
The Oklahoma House approved a bill on Tuesday to let the governor fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate.
The bill, approved on a 54-42 vote, now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Under current Oklahoma law, the governor calls for a special election if there is a vacancy in the U.S. Senate, but House author Rep. Kyle Hilbert says that process takes too long.
Under his proposal, the governor would pick the U.S. senator from a list of three names submitted by the speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The person selected would have to be from the same political party as his or her predecessor and be confirmed by the state Senate.