Shannon worked as a field representative for former Congressman
J. C. Watts and later served in the same position for Congressman
Tom Cole. An enrolled citizen of the
Chickasaw Nation, he worked as the chief administrative officer for Chickasaw Nation Enterprises.
Oklahoma House of Representatives Shannon was first elected to the
Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2006, defeating opponent Janice Drewry in the general election. He rose to leadership in the state House, where he served as deputy majority whip in his first term, chaired the transportation committee in his second term and was elected speaker-designate in his third term. On January 8, 2013, Shannon took the oath of office to be the
speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He is the first African-American and
Chickasaw to sit as Oklahoma House Speaker, and the fourth speaker of
Native heritage, after
William A. Durant (
Choctaw, served from 1911 to 1913),
William P. Willis (
Kiowa, served from 1973 to 1978), and
Larry E. Adair (
Cherokee, served from 2001 to 2004). He has advocated for identifying and selling off state-owned properties that were not being fully utilized. Shannon sponsored an eight-year plan to divert state income tax revenue to repairing Oklahoma's structurally deficient bridges. portrait, 2012 As speaker, Shannon authored legislation to create a long-term plan to address the maintenance of state-owned properties and consolidate property management entities. The first sale under the program to sell off state-owned properties was the sale of a former studio for the state public television station for $130,000. The next properties up for sale are a townlot in Buffalo and 5.58 acres in Marietta. Shannon advocated a controversial measure to require Oklahoma recipients of the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) to perform at least 35 hours of work activities or be denied aid. The work requirement was scaled back after the cost of providing job training to SNAP recipients became clear.
GOPAC, an organization whose mission it is to support up-and-coming Republican leaders, added Shannon to its national advisory board in 2013. House district 62 encompasses
Lawton, Oklahoma and its surrounding communities.
US Senate campaigns Shannon stepped down as the speaker to run for the Republican nomination in the
2014 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma to succeed
Tom Coburn. Despite
Tea Party support and endorsements that included U.S. Senator
Ted Cruz of Texas and former Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin, Shannon lost the Republican nomination for the Senate to
U.S. Representative James Lankford by almost 20 points. In March 2022, Shannon announced that he was running in the
2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma to succeed the retiring Republican
Jim Inhofe. He was endorsed by
Bill Anoatubby, the Governor of the
Chickasaw Nation. Shannon finished in second place in the 13 candidate field, advancing to a runoff against
Markwayne Mullin. Mullin defeated Shannon in the runoff.
Trump administration It was announced on April 14, 2025 that Shannon had joined the
Trump administration as a senior advisor on rural prosperity to USDA secretary
Brooke Rollins. He resigned to launch his campaign for
Lieutenant governor of Oklahoma.
Lt. governor campaign On January 12, 2026, Shannon announced his candidacy in the
2026 Oklahoma lieutenant gubernatorial election. He formally launched his campaign the next day in
Tulsa. On March 24, 2026, President
Donald Trump endorsed Shannon. == Personal life ==