At the age of 27, Mauree Turner has already made history in the state of Oklahoma. On election night, Turner beat out Republican Kelly Barlean for a seat in Oklahoma's state legislature. The 27-year-old will now be the state's first practicing Muslim lawmaker. Turner will also be the state's first non-binary state lawmaker.
"I have a lot of feelings about tonight, but I'm grateful for that the 88th District granted me this opportunity. I hate SQ805 and so many other things slipped through our fingers, but I'm ready to fight hard as hell so they never do again," the state official stated.
"Nothing about us without! Let's go get 'em 88th District."
Turner is an Oklahoma native who has worked tirelessly to better the community. Prior to Tuesday's election, the young lawmaker worked as a Regional Field Director with the Campaign For Smart Justice. The newly elected state official also has experience working with the NAACP, CAIR OK and Freedom Oklahoma among a number of other organizations. Moving forward, the 27-year-old will look to improve the state's minimum wage, integrate healthcare and radically change the criminal justice system.
Turner is one of several young, Black lawmakers who made history on November 3. Ritchie Torres, Cori Bush and a number of other legislators made broke barriers in their respective states.
Turner will take over for the state's 88th District at the top of the new year.
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