As a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, minority leader of the Oklahoma Senate, mayor of Tulsa, congressman from Oklahoma’s First Congressional District, to his present role as Oklahoma’s senior U.S. Senator, Jim Inhofe has served Oklahomans with pride and honor.  

Jim was recently voted the “Most Outstanding Conservative U.S. Senator” by Human Events Newspaper and the American Conservative Union.  He repeatedly receives various awards and recognitions, including the “Lifetime Service Award” from the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, the National Taxpayers Association’s “Friends of the Taxpayer” Award, the “Hero of the Taxpayer Award” from Americans for Tax Reform, the American Farm Bureau’s “Friend of the Farm Bureau” Award, the Center for Security Policy’s “Keeper of the Flame” Award, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Spirit of Enterprise” Award, and an “A+” rating from the National Rifle Association.

Jim is a lifelong Oklahoman who grew up in Tulsa and graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in economics.  He served in the U.S. Army and has been a small businessman working in aviation, real estate, and insurance for over 30 years.  He was elected to the United States Senate in 1994 to complete the unexpired term of Senator David Boren, who resigned to become president of the University of Oklahoma.  Jim was re-elected in 1996, 2002, and 2008. Inhofe has been married 48 years to his wife, Kay, and has four grown children and twelve grandchildren.  During his service in Washington, he commutes back home to Oklahoma almost every weekend.