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[Oklahoma City, OK, February 9, 2016] In the midst of a billion dollar budget failure, discussions of a $900 million sales tax increase, teacher pay raises, and a host of other major policy agendas, Senator David Holt (R-OKC) has taken a vacation to campaign for presidential candidate Marco Rubio in New Hampshire.

“We find it really hard to believe that during this perilous time in Oklahoma, and at the start of the short four month legislative session in which the Senate has just three weeks to report the first round of bills from committee, that Senator Holt feels he has enough free time to go on the road campaigning for another candidate,” said Sarah Baker, Communications Director for the Oklahoma Democratic Party.

Baker continued, “Not to mention, the candidate he’s chosen continues to trail behind Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Why does campaigning for a third-place candidate rank higher in priority than doing the business which he was elected to do and is paid for by Oklahoma? It appears that when you run unopposed in your last election that you can do whatever you want no matter the responsibilities you have at home.”

This year, Holt introduced a complicated six-piece proposal for teacher pay raises without tax increases which includes two items that must go to the voters and the other four elements have to make it through the legislature. “If Senator Holt is really taking this proposal seriously, it seems incredibly unwise for him to leave at a time that is so crucial to getting his bills past the first legislative deadline just 12 working days away,” Baker stated. “I can’t imagine that if he is truly taking his proposal seriously that he’d up and leave to campaign for Marco Rubio in another state.”

Every year since his election in 2010, Holt has introduced various pieces legislation to introduce new tax cuts. He has been a staunch supporter of charter schools, education savings accounts (ESAs), and school vouchers. Just this year Holt has introduced 33 bills; numerous pieces cover teacher pay, criminal justice reform, and even some affecting Oklahoma elections. Holt sits on Appropriations, General Government, Judiciary, and Public Safety committees and is the Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Select Agencies.

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