Shane Jett


Shane David Jett is a Cherokee American politician from the state of Oklahoma and was a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010, representing House District 27. He is currently a candidate for Senate District 17, which includes northern Pottawatomie County and eastern Oklahoma County.

Early life

Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Jett's father was an auto mechanic and Jett worked in his father's shop growing up in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Jett is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Jett graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with a B.B.A. majoring in international business and minoring in Spanish. Fluent in three languages, Jett spent two years in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, working for Global Options International.

Politics

Oklahoma House of Representatives 2004 to 2010

Jett first ran for a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives on November 5, 2002. He was defeated by incumbent Democratic Representative Dale Smith; however, he held the incumbent to less than fifty percent of the vote and came about one percent away from upsetting the incumbent, 48.6% to 47.5%.
In 2004, Smith was term-limited after 14 years in the seat, leaving the seat open. Jett defeated Kevin Roland in the general election on November 2, 2004 and was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the first Republican to hold House district 27 in state history. In 2006, Jett was re-elected to the seat with over 60% of the vote.
In 2008, Jett ran for re-election to House district 27 again and defeated Democrat Cole Koszara, a machinist, of Harrah, Oklahoma by 73% to 27%. In April 2008, Jett was recommended as an Officer to the United States Navy Reserve. Jett has since retired as a Lieutenant.
In 2009, during his term a state representative, Jett proposed a bill to alter the flag of Oklahoma, which would have italicized and angled the word "Oklahoma" and adding an exclamation point after it. Jett introduced the bill in front of the International Relations and Tourism Committee. Jett's motivation was to insert Oklahoma pride into the flag and potentially promote tourism.
In 2010, Jett decided not to run for re-election to the Oklahoma House, but ran instead for the 5th Congressional District seat in Oklahoma City metro area. He finished fourth, with 10.7% of the vote, in a seven candidate field. James Lankford won the Republican primary and was later elected to the job.

2014 5th Congressional District campaign

In 2014, Jett announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District of Oklahoma. During a June 2014 campaign debate with the other four Republican candidates, Jett indicated that he would not have voted to raise the debt ceiling and would not have voted for John Boehner to remain as Speaker of the House. Jett's biggest focus during his Congressional campaign was getting elected to reduce government spending, supporting a federal balanced budget amendment and a line-item veto. Jett indicated that he is a supporter of Second Amendment gun rights. Jett indicated that he is pro-life on abortion and would support a human life amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Jeff finished fifth, with 12.3% of the vote, in a six candidate field. Steve Russell won the Republican primaries and ended up holding the Congressional seat from 2015 to 2019.

2015 & 2017 At-large Tribal Councilor, Cherokee Nation, campaigns

In 2015, Jett ran for the at-large seat of the Council of the Cherokee Nation. Jett finished third behind Wanda Hatfield and Betsy Swimmer. Hatfield received 1,057 votes, Swimmer 770 votes, and Jett 717 votes.
After the 2016 Presidential campaign, Jett was appointed by President Donald Trump to the U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund Community Development Advisory Board where he serves as chairman. The appointment was announced on September 15, 2017.
In 2017, Jett ran again for the At-large Tribal Councilor position of the Council of the Cherokee Nation. Jett finished second in the field of seven candidates, losing to Mary Baker Shaw, with Shaw receiving 56.84% of the vote to Jett's 19.55%.

2020 Oklahoma State Senate District 17 campaign

Jett is running against incumbent State Senator for the 17th State Senate district of Oklahoma, Ron Sharp, a Republican from Shawnee. Jett and Sharp was joined in the June 30, 2020 Republican primary by Brandon Baumgarten of Shawnee. Jett took first place in the June 30th election with 44% of the vote. Jett will face Sharp, who came in second with 33% of the vote, in a runoff election on August 25, 2020. Baumgarten was eliminated in the primary. The winner of the runoff will face Greg Sadler, a printing company employee from Newalla, Oklahoma, in the general election in November 2020. Sadler is the nominee of the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma.

Private life

Jett lives with his wife, Ana Carolina Jett née Gomes, in Shawnee, Oklahoma with their three daughters. Jett is the CEO of a tribal financial institution focused on economic growth.

House committees

2005-2010
2005-06
2007-08
2009-10
;Legislative
;Others

Oklahoma House of Representatives

;2002
;2004
;2006
;2008

U.S. Congress

;2010
;2014

Oklahoma State Senate

;2020