Congressman Markwayne Mullin was first elected to serve the people of Oklahoma’s Second Congressional District in November 2012. He is currently serving his fifth term in office.
Mullin and his wife Christie have been married since 1997 and have six children: Jim, Jayce, Andrew, Larra, Ivy, and Lynette. The Mullin family currently resides on their ranch in Westville, Oklahoma, which includes the original allotment land his family received as Cherokees. They are members of the Assembly of God Church.
A graduate of Stilwell High School, Mullin attended Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship. Shortly after, Mullin’s father fell ill and the family’s plumbing company encountered financial troubles. Mullin left college to return home and take over his family’s business, forgoing his wrestling scholarship and education.
As the father of five children all enrolled in Oklahoma’s public school system, I firmly believe in local control for our school districts. While in Congress, I have helped pass legislation freeing our state from being forced to adhere to ineffective federal standards like Common Core.
The federal government has no business creating education standards that have a one-size-fits-all policy. These decisions should be made by the state. I believe that local school boards, parents, teachers and administrators have the best interests of our children at heart. All five of my children have their own individual learning style, and so I believe that we should have the right to be able to choose the best educational fit for each of our children.