19-year-old wins Muskogee mayor race

A 19-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma was elected mayor of Muskogee in Tuesday's elections.

John Tyler Hammons handily beat city government veteran Hershel Ray McBride in the race for mayor in this eastern Oklahoma community of 40,000. Hammons received 3,703 votes, or 69.6 percent, and McBride got 1,616 votes or 30.3 percent of the vote.

"I'm so humbled by this opportunity,” Hammons said Tuesday evening. "Nothing can stop us now. Muskogee's future is unlimited.”

Hammons will become one of the youngest mayors in Oklahoma history.

Staff Writer Julie Bisbee