Jett first ran for a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives on November 5, 2002.[3] He was defeated by incumbent Democratic representative Dale Smith; however, he held the incumbent to less than fifty percent of the vote and came about one percent away from upsetting the incumbent, 48.6% to 47.5%.[4][5]
In 2004, Smith was term-limited after 14 years in the seat, leaving the seat open.[6] Jett defeated Kevin Roland in the general election on November 2, 2004[7] and was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the first Republican to hold House district 27 in state history.[5] In 2006, Jett was re-elected to the seat with over 60% of the vote.[8]
In 2008, Jett ran for re-election to House district 27 again and defeated Democrat Cole Koszara, a machinist, of Harrah, Oklahoma by 73% to 27%.[9][10] In April 2008, Jett was recommended as an officer to the United States Navy Reserve. Jett has since retired as a lieutenant.[7][11]
In 2009, during his term a state representative, Jett proposed a bill to alter the flag of Oklahoma, which would have italicized and angled the word "Oklahoma" and adding an exclamation point after it. Jett introduced the bill in front of the International Relations and Tourism Committee.[12] Jett's motivation was to insert Oklahoma pride into the flag and potentially promote tourism.[12]
In 2010, Jett decided not to run for re-election to the Oklahoma House, but ran instead for the 5th Congressional District seat in Oklahoma City metro area. He finished fourth, with 10.7% of the vote, in a seven candidate field. James Lankford won the Republican primary and was later elected to the job.[13]
In 2015, Jett ran for the at-large seat of the Council of the Cherokee Nation. Jett finished third behind Wanda Hatfield and Betsy Swimmer. Hatfield received 1,057 votes, Swimmer 770 votes, and Jett 717 votes.[17][18]
In 2017, Jett ran again for the At-large Tribal Councilor position of the Council of the Cherokee Nation.[21] Jett finished second in the field of seven candidates, losing to Mary Baker Shaw, with Shaw receiving 56.84% of the vote to Jett's 19.55%.[22][23]
2020 Oklahoma State Senate District 17 campaign
Jett ran against incumbent State Senator for the 17th State Senate district of Oklahoma, Ron Sharp, a Republican from Shawnee.[2] Jett and Sharp were joined in the June 30, 2020 Republican primary by Brandon Baumgarten of Shawnee.[24][25] Jett took first place in the June 30th election with 44% of the vote.[26] Baumgarten was eliminated in the primary.[26] Jett faced Sharp, who came in second with 33% of the vote, in a runoff election on August 25, 2020.[26] Jett defeated Sharp in the runoff and received over 59% of the vote.[27]
Jett faced Greg Sadler, a printing company employee from Newalla, Oklahoma, in the general election in November 2020. Sadler was the nominee of the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma.[28] In the November 3, 2020 general election, Jett defeated Sadler with about 75% of the vote, to win the 17th Senate district seat.[29]
In February 2021, Jett introduced a bill to the Oklahoma Senate to prohibit teaching of Critical race theory in Oklahoma schools.[30]
In 2023, he proposed a bill that would prohibit social-emotional learning in Oklahoma schools[31] and another bill that would prohibit "certain test or qualification as a condition of employment or promotion within certain institutions of higher education."[32][33] It came along other anti-DEI legislation from Danny Williams and David Bullard from the Oklahoma capitol after Superintendent and Secretary of Education Ryan Walters "called for a 10-year review of all expenditures related to DEI over the last decade at Oklahoma higher education institutions" in early 2023.[34]
On June 18, 2024, Jett faced Sharp again. There were two other candidates in the race. Jett ended up with just over 50% of the vote, avoiding a runoff, with 3,573 votes to Sharp's 1,921 votes.[35] Jett was unopposed in the November 5, 2024 general election.
Jett lives with his wife, Ana Carolina Jett née Gomes (originally of Brazil), in Shawnee, Oklahoma with their three daughters. Jett was the CEO of a tribal financial institution focused on economic growth.[7]
House committees
2005–2010
Chairman of the Joint Committee on International Trade
Co-chairman of the Joint Committee on International Development
2005–06
Appropriation & Budget Subcommittee on General Government & Transportation, Vice Chair
Energy & Utility Regulation Committee
Transportation Committee
Tourism & Recreation Committee
2007–08
Rules Committee, Chair
Appropriations & Budget Committee
Telecommunications & Utility Regulation
GCCA
International, Federal & Tribal Relations
2009–10
International Relations & Tourism Committee, Chair
Energy & Utility Regulations Committee
Appropriation & Budget Subcommittee on General Government & Transportation
Organizations
Legislative
Native American Caucus of the Oklahoma Legislature, Founding Co-chair
National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, Founding Member
