Gloria Trotter

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It’s finally official — Pottawatomie County will have a candidate in the race for the Fifth District seat in the U.S. Congress.

State Rep. Shane Jett is filing the required paperwork this week and will formally announce his candidacy tomorrow (Friday) at the State Capitol, he said earlier this week. It will be an “announcement rally,” wife Ana said Tuesday, with volunteers participating in the media event. Anyone wishing to participate is asked to be at the Capitol by noon to prepare for the 12:30 p.m. announcement.

Jett had all but said he would seek the seat being vacated by Mary Fallin, who is running for governor, back in the early fall but delayed his decision while “measuring the community and the financial support,” he said. “There was a lot to think through — especially how it would affect our family. We prayed a lot.”

Jett and his wife Ana are the parents of two young girls, Raquel and Esther. They are no strangers to the political life; in fact, it’s all they’ve known. Raquel, 5, was born just three days after Jett was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in November 2004, so she’s been on the campaign trail her entire life. Esther was born in April of last year, on the one-year anniversary of her father’s joining the Navy.

Public service is definitely a family affair for the Jetts. Ana and the girls almost always accompany Shane to public events, and decisions are made jointly. This one certainly was.

“Our conclusion is that we have a story to tell,” Jett said of his decision to give up his House seat for the congressional race. “My life experiences reflect the whole district; the others come from Edmond, Oklahoma City. I’m not sure they understand rural Oklahoma.”

He also feels that his diverse background, including military service, small business, education, the Legislature and international affairs, is unique among the half-dozen candidates who have announced they’re seeking the seat. In addition to Jett, they are Kevin Calvey, Rick Flanagan, James Lankford, Dr. Johnny Roy and Mike Thompson, all Republicans seeking what has traditionally been a GOP seat. So far, no Democrats have announced. Filing is in early June.

While Jett has made no secret of his political ambitions since high school, he did not expect to be faced with this move so soon. “I’d like to have more ‘boots on the ground’ experience before Congress,” he said. “I thought Mary (Fallin) would be there for a decade, until 2016. But she moved up the timetable.”

Actually, he said, there is a bit of inevitability about the situation. “I wouldn’t have been in the Legislature much longer; it’s time for a change for us.”

That’s because, since joining the Naval Reserve last year, he owes Uncle Sam a year of full-time service. If elected to Congress, he would be granted “S” status and not have to report to active duty, but state legislators get no such break.

He said he would probably be called for active duty around the first of next year anyway, and would then have to resign his legislative seat. That also means it is somewhat less of risk to run, since the Navy has a job waiting for him if he’s not elected. “I’ve already been recruited to join the 7th Fleet in Hawaii or the war games in Korea,” said Jett, a linguist and world traveler.

But meanwhile, he has two jobs — representing Dist. 27 (most of the county outside Shawnee plus a bit in Cleveland County) and campaigning for Congress. A big part of that, of course, is raising money. He expects to raise most of his funds inside the state, while some of his opponents are being funded from organizations outside Oklahoma. “I will get some donations from out of state,” Jett said. “A lot of my Navy buddies are excited about the race and want to help.”

The campaign will feature a “heavy volunteer base,” he said. “It will be non-traditional but fairly grassroots … We plan to be very ‘outside the box.’” He said he expects to raise money from “people who wouldn’t ordinarily be involved. They know they’ll have a voice.”