E. R. Hughes was an American politician who was the first Republican to serve on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. He served two nonconsecutive terms from 1921 to 1927 and from 1929 to 1935.

E. R. Hughes
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner
In office
January 1929 – January 1935
Preceded byFrank Carter
Succeeded byA. S. J. Shaw
In office
January 1921 – January 1927
Preceded byR. E. Echols
Succeeded byCharles C. Childers
Personal details
Political partyRepublican

Biography

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Hughes was elected to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in 1920 and 1928.[1][2] He was the first and only Republican elected to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission until the election of Bob Anthony in 1988.[3] He ran for reelection in 1926.[4] In 1934, he ran for reelection to the Corporation Commission but he withdrew after advancing to a runoff with Frank A. Anderson. After Anderson's primary win state law was changed to require Black candidates be labeled on the ballot as "(Negro)," until the practice was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 1955.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Corporation Commissioners Since 1907" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  2. ^ Vandewater, Bob (August 26, 1985). "Commission's Actions Ever a Factor at Polls". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Anthony celebrates 10 years at Corporation Commission". The Journal Record. 11 January 1999. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  4. ^ "running for Commissioner of Labor, socialist". Muskogee Times-Democrat. 1 September 1926. p. 14. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  5. ^ Darcy, R. (Spring 2015). "Did Oklahoma African Americans Vote Between 1910 and 1943?" (PDF). The Chronicle of Oklahoma. 93 (1): 72–98. Retrieved 19 May 2024.