11/04/2025
Questionnaire for 2026 Oklahoma Democratic candidates
Name: CHRIS FOWLER
Office sought: Oklahoma STATE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 91 (Southwest Oklahoma City)
#1. Have you ever served in the US Armed Forces? If so, what where your branch, rank and years of service. Mention any details you might want voters to know.
I served in the Air Force from 2004 – 2024, retiring at the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (E-8).
First serving in Aircraft Structural Maintenance, I was assigned to Moody AFB, GA where I maintained the fleet of A-10, C-130, HH-60, and T-38 aircraft. From here, I deployed to Afghanistan supporting the Combat Search and Rescue mission.
After my first enlistment I retrained into the Airborne Mission Systems career field, flying as a crewmember on two very different aircraft: the E-3 Sentry (AWACS), and the MC-12 Liberty. As a career enlisted aviator, I flew over 200 combat missions, 40 combat support missions, and 30 counternarcotic missions in Afghanistan, Syria, the Arabian Gulf, and the Caribbean.
My favorite work came in the form of mentorship and guiding young Airmen and their families. As flight instructor/evaluator, I taught them the direct tactical/technical skills they needed to execute their job. As a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, Operations Superintendent, and eventually Squadron Senior Enlisted Leader, I took pride in removing barriers – both institutional and personal – to improve their lives and help them achieve their goals inside and outside of the military.
The style of active, engaged, and informed leadership is what I hope to bring to the Oklahoma Legislature after the November 3rd, 2026 election.
#2. Do you have connections with veterans or active-duty service members, including but not limited to family ties?
Yes! I remain active in veteran networks through organizations such as the Oklahoma Democratic Veterans Federation and through ongoing mentorship and outreach to fellow veterans in the community. I also have the network of veterans and families I met during my service. As I continue my campaign and meet new people every day, I find that a good number of them have served and are very motivated to continue their service after taking the uniform off.
#3. What do you consider the most important issues facing veterans and military families?
Aside from the political extremism which has been felt by all Americans, veterans and their families continue to face unnecessary barriers to care and achieving professional goals outside the military. By many objective performance measures (wait-time reductions, modernization, and expanded telehealth), the VA has improved its provision of care dramatically in the past 10 years.
But threats by Republicans at the federal level threaten this progress, with discussion of personnel cuts and reviewing which service-connected conditions should be reduced or eliminated from benefits packages seeming to come up frequently.
#4. In what ways can you be helpful to Veterans and military families if elected to office? These may of course include policies not specifically directed to those communities. If you are an incumbent, include initiatives you have already undertaken.
While Oklahoma is generally considered a good place for veterans to retire, we still have work to do here. For example, a surviving spouse of a 100% disabled veteran can only receive the property tax and sales tax exemptions if their active duty spouse received such benefits while they were alive. However, the same spouse can apply for and receive the “DV” license plate and reduced annual fees for their vehicle, which is a tiny relief compared to the property & sales tax breaks.
We can and should work to remove unnecessary and inconsistent seams in support like this, which punish ordinary people. Additionally, if federal benefits and VA care is cut, we need advocates in our State Legislature willing to find funding and increased care solutions to ensure veterans in Oklahoma do not suffer when federal care is reduced.
#5. What is your assessment of the sweeping changes President Trump has made (1) in leadership at the Department of Defense War(!); (2) in reversing policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the US Armed Forces; and (3) by deploying US service members in domestic law enforcement and occupation of American cities?
I’ve spoken with currently serving officers and DOD civilian workers who have shared their private concerns. The bottom line is that they now serve in a climate based on fear. They are actively threatened by their superiors into not attending protests or writing anything critical of the Republican Administration, and they receive emails and other official directives encouraging them to report on coworkers or fellow servicemembers who do.
More alarming is how our military has been deployed anti-Constitutionally to US cities without cause, to include our National Guard forces and their illegal targeting of boats in the Caribbean. The Republican Administration’s continuing politicization of our military and the unchecked, unaccountable ways they use it constitute an existential threat to our Republic.
