TULSA, Okla. — Jim Inhofe is leaving the U.S. Seante after decades spent representing Oklahoma in Washington, D.C.
The longtime Republican lawmaker, born Nov. 17, 1934 in Des Moines, Iowa, moved to Tulsa as a child, eventually attending Central High School.
He graduated in 1953 and served in the Army in 1957 and 1958.
Inhofe attended the University of Tulsa and became involved in several business ventures including aviation and real estate. He remained an active pilot throughout his decades of public service.
He first made it into office as a member of the State House of Representatives in 1967 and then State Senate in 1969. Inhofe ran for governor and for U.S. House in the following years but lost both elections.
He became Mayor of Tulsa in 1978 where he served until 1984. Two years later he won the election to represent Oklahoma's first congressional district in the U.S. House.
In 1994, Inhofe won one of Oklahoma's two U.S. Senate seats, beginning his uninterrupted run through 2020 where he won his final reelection campaign and announced more than a year later that he'd resign before the start of 2023.
He served as the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee for several years until his resignation and had previously worked in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Inhofe and his wife, Kay, have been married more than 60 years and have 20 kids and grandchildren.
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