Democrat Mauree Turner on historic win and 'the Oklahoma I want to create'

The non-binary progressive state representative explains why they refuse to keep putting their identity up for debate

When 27-year-old Mauree Turner sat down at Holy Rollers, the queer-owned vegan Donut Shop in Oklahoma City in July 2020, it was under strange circumstances. Firstly, Turner, who uses non-binary pronouns, had just won Oklahoma's 88th district by a mere 228 votes. Secondly, sitting opposite, was the man they just beat.

Before being elected to office, Turner spent their days doing the behind-the-scenes gruntwork of community organizing as a regional field director with the ACLU: planning workshops, leading trainings on college campuses, coordinating with dozens of volunteers.