Destiny

**Destiny** (June 1st, 1939 - November 29th, 2022) was an American politician who served as a **U.S. Senator for Oklahoma** from **January 3rd, 1981**, until her death on **November 29th, 2022**. She was the longest serving U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, and was the most senior member of her party from 2015-2022. First elected in 1980, defeating National Conservative challenger Don Nickles in a notable upset, and the only Liberal Democratic gain that season, she began her job as a friend to Oklahoma's other Liberal Democratic U.S. Senator, David Boren (1979-1994), a notable double-LD delegation in a deep red state. However, Boren and Destiny disagreed on many issues, Boren being a conservative Democrat, and Destiny being a progressive Democrat. When Boren resigned in 1994 to become President of the University of Oklahoma, Destiny became the state's senior U.S. Senator.

## Destiny (LD-OK)

Destiny's official portrait as a U.S. Senator, 1981

## Appearances

### Debut

1980 U.S. Senate election in Oklahoma

She was an icon for progressives in deeply conservative states. She took inspiration from her colleague Mike Gravel (1970-1987), who was a progressive Liberal Democratic U.S. Senator from Alaska, at the time a deeply conservative state, due to the Countryball Machine and petroleum state.

## Electoral history

### 1980 Senate Election in Oklahoma

Destiny was the automatic underdog of the race, being a progressive running in a conservative state during a conservative wave year. She was given no chance of winning, even at some point placing under 30% in the polls. However, she started to pull through due to mistakes made by her challenger, Don Nickles. She ended up winning by a 22 point margin, a huge upset for many National Conservatives. Her 61% to 39% win was soon investigated for fraud, although no fraud was found, and she was seated on January 3rd, 1981, along with other Senators elected that cycle.

### 1986 Senate Election in Oklahoma

Destiny faced opposition from future U.S. Representative Tom Cole, who was the National Conservative nominee. Cole was once against defeated in an upset, by a margin of 54 points. Destiny won 76% of the vote.

Cole faced a bitter primary challenge from future Oklahoma Corporation Commission member Bob Anthony, with the two holding what Senator Alamkan M. Countryball Sr called "what seemed to be... more fundraisers per weekday than letters in a bowl of alphabet soup. [sic]". The primary drew national attention to the race, due to the fights between the two candidates for the nomination, and the fact that the primary couldn't be called for another few weeks after the intended deadline. In the end, Cole came out on top, but the primary race greatly damaged him and his campaign, and due to a general Liberal Democratic lean in the 1986 races, Cole was defeated in the general election, winning only 22% of the vote.

Anthony would become a member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in 1989, and Cole would become a U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 4th congressional district in 2003.

## Tenure as U.S. Senator

### 20th Century (1981-2000)

Destiny was notable progressive in her time as a U.S. Senator, allying with Senators such as Alaska's Mike Gravel and New York's Bloomberg Girl. She found herself an enemy of the National Conservatives, who found her annoying due to her inability to be defeated despite her seat being based in one of the most conservative states in the Union, and saw her as a threat to their goals in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole relayed in 1990 that she "had the courage of a lion, yet the intelligence of a chimpanzee." This comment drew controversy from both the public & Dole's colleagues, even those who worked with him, and soon Dole publicly apologized.