Charlie Laster

Charlie Laster
Member of the Oklahoma Senate from the 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 2003
Preceded by	Brad Henry
Personal details
Born	April 18, 1954 (1954-04-18) (age 57) Shawnee, Oklahoma
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Kathy Laster
Residence	Shawnee, Oklahoma
Alma mater	Oklahoma State University, University of Oklahoma
Profession	attorney
Religion	Baptist

Charlie Laster represents Oklahoma State Senate District 17 and is the current Minority Leader. The district is located in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma County, and Cleveland County.

Laster graduated from Shawnee High School in 1972, Oklahoma State University in 1976, and received his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1979. While at Oklahoma State University, Laster played competitive tennis in the Big 8 Conference.

Political career

Laster was first elected in a special election on February 11, 2003^[1] to replace the seat left vacant by Brad Henry who was elected governor in 2002. Laster quickly rose to leadership within the Democratic Party, being named Chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee, which handles criminal laws and tort reform. Upon the Democrats and Republicans attaining equal votes in the body, Laster was named the Democratic Floor Leader by then President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan to serve during the 51st Legislature. At the conclusion of the last session in anticipation of the 2008 elections, Laster was named by the Democratic Caucus as the President Pro Tempore-Designate should the Democrats recapture the majority. They failed to do so, losing two seats to the Republicans. Despite the poor showing of the caucus in the elections, Laster was named unanimously as the Minority Floor Leader for the 52nd Legislature in November, 2008.

Election results

2008 General Election^[2]

Candidate		Votes	%
	Charlie Laster	15,806	56.55%
	Donald Rominger	12,145	43.45%

Primary Election July 27, 2004^[3]

Candidate		Votes	%
	Charlie Laster	5,713	78.31%
	Russel Bristow	1,582	21.69%

February 11, 2003 Special General Election^[1]

Candidate		Votes	%
	Charlie Laster	5,849	54.25%
	Kris Steele	4,933	45.75%

January 14, 2003 Special Primary Election^[1]

Candidate		Votes	%
	Charlie Laster	3,358	71.30%
	Greg Wilson	1,352	28.70%

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "2003 Election Results". State Election Board. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927213216/http://www.ok.gov/~elections/04ss17.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-27. 
2. ^ "2008 Election Results". State Election Board. http://www.ok.gov/~elections/08gen.html. Retrieved 2008-09-13. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "2004 Primary Results". State Election Board. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927213222/http://www.ok.gov/~elections/04pri.html. Retrieved 2007-04-27. 

External links

• Senator Charlie Laster - District 17 official State Senate website
• Profile from Project Vote Smart
• Follow the Money - Charlie Laster
  • 2008 2006 2004 State Senate campaign contributions

Persondata
Name	Laster, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 18, 1954
Place of birth	Shawnee, Oklahoma
Date of death
Place of death