Kevin Hern is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Oklahoma and has represented Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District since November 2018. A former aerospace engineer who became a McDonald's franchisee in the Tulsa area, he sits on the House Ways and Means Committee and has chaired the Republican Study Committee and the House Republican Policy Committee. He is running for the Senate seat Markwayne Mullin vacated in March 2026.[1][2][3]
Hern was born in Belton, Missouri, in 1961. According to his House biography, he was born on an Air Force base and earned an architectural drafting certificate at a career technology school in high school, which he used to work his way through an engineering degree.[2][3] He received his bachelor's degree in engineering in 1986 and an MBA from the University of Arkansas in 1999.[2] His House biography says he began as an aerospace engineer at Rockwell International and was out of work after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, after which he pursued becoming a McDonald's franchisee, funding the effort with small ventures including programming, real estate and hog farming.[3]
Hern bought his first McDonald's restaurant in North Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1997, and in 1999 he bought two restaurants in Muskogee, Oklahoma, moving his family to the state; the business grew to 24 restaurants in northeastern Oklahoma, according to his House biography.[3] He served on McDonald's regional and divisional leadership teams for six years and on its National Leadership Team for 13 years, including as chair of the Franchise Relations Team and the Systems Economic Team, and chaired the finance committee of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority from 2011 to 2015.[2][3] He describes business interests in banking, manufacturing, real estate development and technology, and he and his wife, Tammy, own Custom Seating and Interiors, a supplier to the restaurant industry.[3]
Hern won Oklahoma's 1st District in 2018, succeeding Jim Bridenstine, and was sworn into Congress on November 13, 2018. He serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means and its Health Subcommittee, chaired the Republican Study Committee in the 118th Congress, and chaired the House Republican Policy Committee in the 119th Congress.[2][3] He won the June 16, 2026, Republican primary for U.S. Senate with 69.8% of the vote, defeating Gary England and three other candidates. He and his wife live in Tulsa and have three children and three grandchildren, according to his House biography.[1][3]
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
