From the Mustang Times

Kyle Loveless knows all the negatives associated with a campaign for political office. But when the District 45 state senate seat opened up a month ago, the Oklahoma City Republican couldn’t resist.

At a young age, Loveless said he learned the importance of helping others from his parents and grandparents. On Thursday night, he told a group of supporters that he plans to follow in those footsteps as the next District 45 state senator.

“My family has always had a call to serve,” Loveless said during his campaign kickoff party at Town Center. “My parents have helped start a church in Africa, my brother started an occupational and physical therapy clinic and my wife has her company she started. So it’s something that we really feel obligated to do. We’ve been extremely blessed from the people of Oklahoma.”

Last month, Loveless announced his second bid for the Senate seat, which includes Mustang and parts of Moore and southwest Oklahoma City. The local businessman and consultant also ran for the seat in 2008, but lost to Steve Russell, who recently announced he would not seek a second term.

“It’s going to be a lot different than last time because I had two years to plan, two years to fundraise and two years to take the time to walk from Mustang to Moore in the heat of August,” Loveless said. “When I talked to (my wife) Summer the first time, her first question wasn’t about my sanity. It was if I was going to walk again. And I told her no.”

Summer might not have been a fan of her husband’s walk across the district, but said she’s fully onboard with his run for elected office.

“Many of you know Kyle, you know his story, you know his credentials, you know what he’s capable of, but most importantly you know that he has a real desire to serve Oklahoma, the state senate and specifically Mustang,” Summer said. “I am honored to be a part of this effort and thrilled to help get him there. And we cannot do this without you.”

The Loveless campaign received an early boost Thursday evening with the endorsement of longtime Mustang resident Don Anderson and former District 45 State Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson. After an introduction Anderson and Wilcoxson took the podium and spoke highly of Loveless.

“I am very careful in the persons whom I endorse, and when Kyle told me Sen. Russell was not running and asked would I endorse him this time, I said without a hesitation,” Wilcoxson told the crowd at Town Center. “I am very pleased to endorse him because I think we’ll find in him a man who is willing to listen to the people of this district.”

Loveless graciously thanked his supporters and summed up his campaign into three major points. He said he will focus on growing jobs and the economy, improving the state’s infrastructure, and reforming the public education system.

The Republican primary is scheduled for June 2012 with a runoff in August.

By Jeff Harrison
Staff Writer for the Mustang Times