Senator Laughlin was first elected in November 1996.  The 27th Senatorial district includes all or part of 8 counties and stretches from Fairview and Okeene in the East, to Boise City and Kenton on the borders of Colorado and New Mexico in the West.

Senator Laughlin graduated from Southern Nazarene University in 1973 with a BA Degree in Political Science, and from Oklahoma City University in 1976 with a JD Degree in Law.  Senator Laughlin is a Certified Flight Instructor and a licensed Attorney in Texas and Oklahoma, and has practiced law in Northwest Oklahoma.  He has also been in the banking business and managed real estate investments since his graduation.

Senator Laughlin was recently elected by his fellow Senators as Assistant Republican Floor Leader for the 50th Legislative Session.

Senator Laughlin was appointed to a Special Joint Committee to rewrite the Truth in Sentencing Bill, which is now law.  He was also appointed to a Special Committee on the Economic Status of Agriculture, the Subcommittee on Congressional Redistricting, and the Special Joint Committee on Tort Reform. 

Senator Laughlin was named 1999 Legislator of the Year by the National Republican Legislators Association.  He was chosen by the Executive Committee of the NRLA based on his legislative and political leadership, in addition to demonstrating dedication, conviction, fairness and integrity. He was awarded the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Meritorious Service Award in 1997 and again in 2002.

Senator Laughlin was born in Eldora, Iowa in 1951.  He was raised in Higgins, Texas, just one mile from Oklahoma in the Texas Panhandle.  As a youth in Higgins, Texas he completed the requirements to earn his Eagle Scout status.  After graduating from law school, he and his wife Charlette moved to Woodward where they have made their home for the last 30 years.  They have four children, Ryan of Houston, Texas, Nathan and wife Lynsie of Murfreesboro Tn., daughter Jana and husband Jon Bushman and daughter Avery Hope, Tulsa, Ok. and Tyler, Norman, Oklahoma.

Committee Membership

• Appropriations

Office Information

District Information: District 27

• Map
• Population and Household

Counties Represented

• Beaver
• Blaine
• Cimarron
• Harper
• Major
• Texas
• Woods
• Woodward

Press Releases
Archives: 2007 | 2006 | 2005

• State Senate Sends Another Lawsuit Reform Bill to Henry
  05.12.08
  
  
• Official English Bill’s Supporters Disappointed by Senate Democrats’ Obstruction
  05.07.08
  
  
• Senate GOP Floor Leader Responds To Democrat Attack
  02.25.08