OKLAHOMA CITY – I am writing this to “reintroduce” my friend Matt Pinnell who is running for Lieutenant Governor.

Some readers may know Matt as the former Chair of the Oklahoma GOP and most recently as the number two at the Republican National Committee under Reince Priebus. Matt is also a small business owner in Tulsa. I am extremely impressed with his background, skill set, and saw that he was uniquely qualified to be LG. As such, I’m supporting him on June 26.

Matt and his wife Lisa started a small business in the kitchen of their Tulsa home and are now selling a baby hammock line of products across the country and internationally. He and his wife have grown their small businesses from scratch and they understand that process.

Matt will recognize opportunities for our state, unapologetically retaining and recruiting businesses to come here. As essentially the Economic Development Director for the state, he’s hyper focused on creating additional tax payers for Oklahoma which benefits all of us.

Bottomline: The Lieutenant Governor’s job should not be a consolation prize.

Matt has been running a great campaign raising money and working all 77 counties harder than any other candidate for the job. Matt has also raised money from all 50 states, a unique qualification that will be critical in helping to recruit businesses from across our country. Matt has already served as a stellar ambassador at the national level and will grow in this role as Lt. Governor.

Matt’s been endorsed by business and grassroots leaders across the state and was recently endorsed by The Tulsa World.

Investing in the right leadership is what our state needs. Matt is a stellar example of bright new ideas and Oklahoma’s future. He is a go getter and I am excited to vote for him on Tuesday, June 26. Please join me in supporting him.

NOTE: Brenda Jones Barwick is the principal at Jones PR, a national firm based in Oklahoma City.