Wes Watkins
| Wes Watkins | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 3rd district |
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In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Brewster |
| Succeeded by | Frank Lucas |
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In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1991 |
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| Preceded by | Carl Albert |
| Succeeded by | Bill Brewster |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 15, 1938 De Queen, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Political party |
Democratic (Before 1994) Independent (1994–1996) Republican (1996–present) |
| Alma mater | Oklahoma State University, Stillwater |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Years of service | 1960–1967 |
| Unit | Oklahoma Air National Guard |
Wesley Wade "Wes" Watkins (born December 15, 1938) is a politician from the state of Oklahoma. He is a retired member of the United States House of Representatives where Watkins had represented Oklahoma's 3rd Congressional District for 14 years as a Democrat and then for six years as a Republican.
Watkins was born in De Queen, Arkansas but moved to Oklahoma as a boy. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1960, receiving a master's degree from that same school in 1961. After a brief stint working for the United States Department of Agriculture, he worked as an administrator at his alma mater from 1963 to 1966. During that time, he was initiated into Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity as an honorary member while serving as their faculty advisor. Later, he spent two years heading one of the first economic development districts in the country, based in Ada.
Watkins became active in Democratic party politics in the early 1970s, and was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1974. Two years later, U.S. House Speaker Carl Albert announced his retirement after 30 years representing Oklahoma's 3rd Congressional District. The district, which was based in the southeastern part of the state and known as Little Dixie, was heavily Democratic in both local and national elections. Watkins faced a formidable opponent in Albert's popular longtime Chief of Staff and Administrative Assistant Charles Ward. However, Watkins, a homebuilder and remodeler and wife Lou, a political science teacher had closer local ties in the district, as Ward had been in Washington DC for decades. Watkins prevailed in the Democratic primary runoff and he then gained Albert's endorsement and won the general election with 82% of the vote. He was re-elected six more times, always by close to 80% of the vote. For most of this time, he served on the Budget or Appropriations Committees, allowing him to bring large amounts of money to his mostly rural and agricultural district. He was also very active in oil and natural gas issues, and took particularly strong interest in economic development issues for his rural district.
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