Spencer Humphrey/KFOR and BJ Lutz
1 hour ago
CHICAGO — A man who sells insurance in Illinois and recently voted in Texas is facing criticism of being a carpetbagger and questions about his residency as he runs for Oklahoma state House. .
Political newcomer Paul Bonder, the name behind Deerfield-based Bonder Insurance Group, announced last week that he will oust incumbent Rep. Tom Cole in the Republican primary for Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District this June. The campaign has begun running ads, questioning who he is and claiming that Cole is trying to “buy” Oklahoma's 4th District seat.
Bonder, 44, holds a valid insurance license in the state, according to state records. Her license listed her “state of residence” as Texas and also checked a box indicating she was not an Illinois resident. However, Bondar claims he currently lives in Oklahoma.
“I've been to different states all over the United States. Just recently before I got into Oklahoma, I was in Texas,” he told WGN sister station KFOR in Oklahoma City. “I invested in Oklahoma. We bought over 500 acres of land… We're building a very large forever home on this 500 acres on a pond. So this is something we It’s a bigger effort than what we did in Oklahoma.”
Bonder told KFOR that the 500-acre ranch he purchased is located near Durant, Oklahoma. Although that community is not within the boundaries of OK-4, the U.S. Constitution requires that Congressional candidates reside only in the state they are running to represent, not in the actual district. yeah.
While his “forever” home is under construction, Bonder said he and his family are living in a rented house in Stonewall, Oklahoma. He claimed he listed the Stonewall address as his residence when filing to run with the Federal Election Commission, but a copy of his FEC nomination form filed May 3 shows an address in Norman, Oklahoma. was listed.
Bonder does not own the property listed in the FEC application, according to Cleveland County assessors, which includes Norman. It lists a woman other than Mr. Bondar's wife as the sole owner of the property.
Documents show that Bonder still owns a home in Heath, Texas, and used that address to register to vote as recently as March, a fact he does not deny.
“If you look at voting laws, I own property and I voted for the state's policy regarding identification requirements for voting. …As an individual landowner, I cannot vote. , you can vote in different locations on specific issues in that location, and that's absolutely true,” Bondar said.
He said he still owns a home in Illinois and two in Michigan, adding that he recently liquidated two properties to fund investments in Oklahoma.
Still, KFOR was unable to confirm whether Bondar lives in the Sooner State.
Bondar's campaign ads describe him as a successful businessman, devout Christian and Trump Republican. He told KFOR that he has never run for public office, and that he believes Roger Stone and Michael Flynn were the main influences on his decision to run for the Oklahoma seat. He said he is doing so.
“A lot of people asked me to run,” he said.
Stone, a political strategist, was convicted of seven felonies for interfering with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into interference in the 2016 presidential election. President Donald Trump later pardoned him. Mr. Flynn, a former national security adviser, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of “knowingly and knowingly” making false statements to the FBI during Mr. Mueller's investigation. President Trump later pardoned Flynn as well.
Bondar said he has gotten to know other candidates in recent years by supporting them.
“I support America First type policies. It's important to me to support conservative policies, conservative candidates. And they're attached to certain candidates.” he told KFOR.
Bondar owned Bondar Insurance Group for 20 years. He said he sold the company “a few weeks before” he decided to run, but Alera Group announced its acquisition in January 2021.
Bonder told KFOR that he had been busy in recent weeks campaigning in towns within Oklahoma's 4th District, but was not there when KFOR spoke with him. He was in Texas.
Oklahoma's Republican primary election will be held on Tuesday, June 18th.