History was made in the Oklahoma Senate Tuesday when Republican Senator Glenn Coffee presided over the Oklahoma State Senate’s session.
It was the first time a Republican presided over the evenly-divided Senate as part of the power-sharing agreement adopted last January.
Coffee serves as the Senate’s Co-President Pro Tempore.
Democrats had controlled the Senate since statehood until the 2006 elections, when Republicans gained two seats to create a 24-24 tie in the chamber.
The Senate’s power-sharing agreement calls for Republicans and Democrats to alternate days in the presiding officer’s chair. On days when a Republican is in the chair, a Democrat will serve as floor leader, and vice versa.