Connie will fight to increase the state minimum wage in order to close the gender wage gap, fight income inequality, and honor the dignity of hard working Oklahomans. Currently, the minimum wage in Oklahoma is stalled at $7.25/hour. As your Governor, Connie will fight to increase the federal minimum wage to $15/hr, because hard working Oklahomans deserve a minimum wage that allows them to pay rent and utility bills, buy groceries, and have reliable transportation to work. A $15/hr minimum wage increase helps low-income Oklahomans and their families improve their basic quality of living. Most Oklahomans who would get a raise are workers under 35-years-old. In addition, the majority of minimum wage workers are women. A $15/hr. minimum wage increase would help expand incomes for nearly 28 million Americans. Connie will fight to increase the state minimum wage in order to close the gender wage gap, fight income inequality, and honor the dignity of hard working Oklahomans. Currently, the minimum wage in Oklahoma is stalled at $7.25/hour. As your Governor, Connie will fight to increase the federal minimum wage to $15/hr, because hard working Oklahomans deserve a minimum wage that allows them to pay rent and utility bills, buy groceries, and have reliable transportation to work. A $15/hr minimum wage increase helps low-income Oklahomans and their families improve their basic quality of living. Most Oklahomans who would get a raise are workers under 35-years-old. In addition, the majority of minimum wage workers are women. A $15/hr. minimum wage increase would help expand incomes for nearly 28 million Americans. At present, a full-time minimum wage worker making $7.25/hr earns barely $14,000 a year. That’s more than $4,000 below the poverty line for a family of three. Raising the minimum wage to $15/hr, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, would lift nearly one million Americans out of poverty. Raising the minimum wage grows our economy, not our unemployment rate. Nineteen states across the nation— including neighboring Missouri, New Mexico, and Colorado—already have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage. Connie also believes local municipalities should have authority to raise the minimum wage because she believes local communities offer the best sensible solutions to local problems.