Two new Republicans running for 5th Congressional District: Turner and Sparks

The Oklahoma 5th Congressional District's GOP primary just got a lot more crowded: state rep. Mike Turner and pastor Harvey Sparks have thrown their respective hats into the ring for the Republican  nomination.

State Rep. Mike Turner is 26 years old, and was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2012.

In his news release, Turner said “After surveying the current field of candidates, many people approached me about running. There simply wasn’t a true, ‘across the board’ conservative on issues ranging from taxes and spending, social issues, economic growth issues like tort reform, and immigration.”  The 'tort reform' comment is likely aimed at fellow candidate Steve Russell, who was a very conservative state senator but opposed tort reform legislation.

News9 reports that Turner is willing to spend $500,000 of his own money on the race.

Harvey Sparks is a Baptist pastor, former missionary, and recent staffer for 1st District Congressman Jim Bridenstine. In his news release, Sparks pledged to serve only three terms, to "never vote for a debt limit increase, budget or continuing resolution that doesn’t include a plan to get us back on the road to fiscal solvency", and said that he "will not support anyone for House leadership, current or future, who doesn’t have a track record of taking seriously the fiscal situation that we are in."