Enid residents vote out city councilman accused of white nationalist ties in recall election

The Enid city councilman accused of being a member of the white nationalist group Identity Evropa was soundly defeated Tuesday in a recall election. Unofficial election returns show that Judd Blevins, the incumbent, received 561 votes, about 40.365%, while Cheryl Patterson, the challenger, captured 829 votes or 59.65%.

A total of 1,390 votes were cast in the race.

Blevins, 42, has held the Ward 1 seat since May 2023. He was forced into a recall election after the Enid News & Eagle published a story last year that tied Blevins with the white nationalist group Identity Evropa.

A short time after the newspaper published the stories, the Enid Social Justice Committee launched a recall petition drive in an effort to oust Blevins. The group said it was seeking to remove Blevins from his post to "correct a grievous error."

Organizer Kristi Balden, the group's chair, said the residents of Ward 1 weren't informed about who Blevins was and that voters deserved to make a new decision on him. Blevins faced Patterson, 61, a longtime resident and well-known community activist, in the recall election.

Since then, the story about Blevins has drawn a national audience. Media outlets such as PBS, U.S. News & World Report and The New York Times filed stories about Blevins and the recall effort.

Blevins, who has regularly declined to speak with the news media, sent a text message to The Oklahoman last year downplaying the controversy.

“These allegations were made long ago, and they were addressed during the campaign,” Blevins’ text said. “The voters of Ward 1 settled this issue. They elected me because they believed I was the best candidate who shared their values, their concerns, and their hopes for the future of Enid. Regrettably, this fringe group, with the help of local and state media outlets, has chosen to continue a smear campaign against me rather than simply accept the results of an election."

However, during a candidate forum last week, Blevins backed away from some of his criticism. He told the media outlet NonDoc that he did, indeed, attend the white nationalist rally. Blevins also told the audience that he never identified as a white supremacist.

Before the event, Blevins had refused to talk about the rally or his connection with Identity Evropa. Blevins did not apologize for his attendance at the rally. Questioned at the forum, Blevins said he was simply speaking his mind.

“Right off the bat,” Blevins said. “Well, those organizations no longer exist, and I think that this election is really about the next three years of this city, not about organizations that disbanded five years ago. Now, if speaking out against what was being done to this country, what is continuing to be done to this country, is a crime, then I would gladly plead guilty to that.”

He said the same issues that got Donald Trump elected president in 2016 remained important. Blevins was first elected to the city council in February 2023. He won the seat by a mere 36 votes — 422 to 386.

Votes in the election will be certified Friday.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma election results: Judd Blevins defeated in Enid recall election