Who is Paul Bondar, running to unseat Tom Cole? We found him.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A man running to represent Oklahoma’s fourth congressional district tells News 4 he recently moved to Oklahoma because he had been asked to run for that office by national political consultants. News 4 could not confirm if he lives in Oklahoma.
Political newcomer Paul Bondar is running to unseat incumbent Congressman Tom Cole in the Republican primary for Oklahoma’s Fourth Congressional District this June.
Bondar’s campaign purchased ad time on Oklahoma television stations. This week, the ads began airing.
Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole becomes chair of House Appropriations Committee
“Paul Bondar is a successful businessman, devout Christian, and Trump Republican,” a narrator proclaims in Bondar’s ad. “Tom Cole voted with Democrats for billions in new deficit spending. Paul Bondar opposes new federal spending.”
Bondar’s ad goes on to attack Cole for voting to approve aid funding to Ukraine.
“Paul Bondar opposes more Ukraine spending and wants to spend the money sealing our southern border,” the narrator says.
Cole has held the OK-4 congressional seat since 2003. This week, his campaign launched ads attacking Bondar.
“Paul Bondar’s bought lots of nice things,” a narrator says in Tom Cole’s ad attacking Bondar. “Like his luxury mansion in Illinois, where he didn’t pay his taxes. And Bondar’s mansion in Texas, yes Texas, where Bondar swore he lived when he voted just weeks ago.”
Cole’s ad claimed Bondar doesn’t live in Oklahoma at all, accusing him of trying to “buy” the OK-4 seat.
When the ads began airing this week, Bondar was an unfamiliar name to most Oklahomans.
News 4 visited Bondar’s campaign website.
On Thursday evening, his “about me” page said the following:
Meet Paul Bondar: A Dedicated Family Man, Experienced Business Leader, and True Believer in American Values
Welcome to my campaign! I’m Paul Bondar, a proud father, husband, and seasoned business professional, running to serve as your next Congressman. At 44 years old, my journey has been one of commitment to family, business, and community. Together with my wife Jenni, we are blessed to be the parents of two wonderful children, Kali, 11, and Brooks, 9.
Having successfully operated a thriving insurance agency, I’ve developed a keen insight into the challenges and opportunities facing our business community. This experience fuels my drive to implement effective solutions that promote growth and prosperity for all Americans.
I am a Republican who stands firm in the belief that our nation’s strength lies in its people. My values are deeply rooted in the principles of hard work, integrity, and respect for individual freedoms. I am committed to fostering an environment where these values flourish and where every citizen can achieve the American dream.
Family is at the center of everything I do. I cherish the time spent fishing with Kali and Brooks, and nothing makes me prouder than watching my daughter excel in her equestrian pursuits. These moments reinforce my commitment to preserving and enhancing the quality of life for all families in our community.
I am running for Congress to ensure that our children and future generations inherit a country full of opportunities. A vote for Paul Bondar is a vote for dedicated leadership, a thriving economy, and a stronger, united community. Join me in this journey to bring about positive change and keep the American dream alive for every citizen!
Bondar’s Campaign Website on May 9, 2024.
As of Friday evening, Bondar’s “about me” page had been updated. It now includes a more detailed biography, highlighting time he spent as a college football player.
His updated campaign site suggests he is friends with former NFL star Tony Romo.
“In 1998, Paul earned a division 1 football scholarship along with his high-school quarterback, teammate, and lifelong friend, Tony Romo, who went on to play 13 years for the Dallas Cowboys— a friendship Bondar cherishes to this day,” Bondar’s website says.
Bondar agreed to do an interview with News 4 around the same time his website was updated on Friday.
He expanded on his biography.
“I was born in Wisconsin and grew up there,” Bondar told News 4. “My father was a Southerner, my grandfather was a sod farmer, my father was a policeman. My father got injured in the line of duty. He came back with, you know, with a severe injury, came back and finished his 25 years out with the sheriff’s department. I went on to fortunately get a college scholarship and I was able to go down to North Carolina on a college scholarship for a Division I football program. And that taught me a lot about life, taught me a lot about responsibility. Thereafter, I worked as an assistant city manager up in Michigan for a couple of years, for about a year and a half. I got my degree in political science and sociology in little over three years, and my master’s degree in public administration, and I got into the insurance business for 22 years.”
News 4 asked Bondar why he decided to run for the OK-4 seat.
“I feel like definitely there is a need for somebody to actually step up and run a campaign,” Bondar said. “I think Mr. Cole has been basically running uncontested. Some good people have tried to mount some campaigns, but when you look at the historical data, you’re going to see that they’ve been literally outspent by about 7,000%. I don’t consider this to be a democracy or fair fight when candidates are only putting up 30,000 to 2 million. And it’s been an uncontested seat. And frankly, I’m not happy.”
Bondar said he’s spoken with many people who live in OK-4.
“Many of the people within the district have been so supportive,” Bondar said. “They’re asking for an alternative.”
Bondar told News 4 this is the first time he’s ever run for public office.
“I’m a newcomer, I come with a clean slate,” Bondar said. “And I have been a businessman for 22 years. I’m not a politician. So I’m really compelled to do this because I’m saying enough is enough, just like many other Americans are saying. I can’t believe the course, the direction our country is going. And it has to somebody has to make a stand.”
An image in Bondar’s campaign ad shows him standing alongside national political strategist Roger Stone and former U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
Stone was convicted on seven felony counts for interference in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into interference in the 2016 presidential election. President Trump later pardoned him.
Flynn pleaded guilty to felony charges to “willfully and knowingly” making false statements to the FBI during the Mueller investigation. President Trump later pardoned Flynn as well.
“I’ve got to know them over the course of a couple years because I’ve supported other candidates in the past,” Bondar said. “I support American first type policies. It’s important to me to support a conservative type policy, a conservative type candidate. And they’ve been attached to those particular candidates.”
Bondar said Stone and Flynn were a key influence in his choice to run for OK-4’s congressional seat.
“[Running for office] really wasn’t something I woke up and said I need to do,” Bondar said. “Others have said, ‘Paul, I would like for you to consider doing this. We need you. We need you here.’ So I was asked to run by many.”
For the past two decades, Bondar has owned Illinois-based Bondar Insurance Group. He says he sold the company when he decided to run for office.
“My business was sold a couple of weeks ago,” Bondar said.
Statewide candidate filing begins April 3
According to Illinois state records, he still has an active insurance license in Illinois. On that license, he listed his “domicile state” as Texas, and also checked a box indicating he is not an Illinois resident.
But Bondar claims he now lives in Oklahoma.
“I’ve been in a number of different states throughout the United States, most recently prior to Oklahoma, I was in Texas,” Bondar said. “I invested in Oklahoma. We bought 500 plus acres… we’re building a very large forever house on this 500 acres over a pond. And so this is a bigger commitment in the state of Oklahoma that we’ve made.”
Bondar told News 4 the 500-acre ranch he purchased is near Durant, Oklahoma.
Durant is not within the boundaries of OK-4, however the U.S. Constitution only requires a congressional candidate live in the state they’re running to represent, but not the actual district.
While his forever home is under construction, Bondar says he and his family have been living in a rented home.
“Right now I’m living… and we have a house that’s in Stonewall, that we’re, that that we were living in temporarily until we build the, finished building the construction of the other,” Bondar said.
Stonewall, Oklahoma is a small town outside Ada.
News 4 asked Bondar if he listed his Stonewall address as his current address when he filed to run for office with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
“Yes,” Bondar responded.
But that isn’t true.
News 4 obtained a copy of Bondar’s FEC candidate filing, submitted on May 3. On it, he listed an address in Norman as his home.
According to the Cleveland County Assessor’s website, Bondar does not own the address in Norman he listed on the FEC filing. It lists “Nicole Kish” as the sole owner of the property.
News 4 also found Bondar still owns a home in Texas.
A 2022 FEC filing indicates Bondar and his wife both donated $2500 to a campaign called “Smucker Victory Fund.”
In the filing, both Paul and Jenni Bondar list a home in Heath, Texas as their place of residence.
Heath, a suburb of Dallas, is located in Rockwall County, Texas.
The Rockwall County Tax Assessor’s website lists Paul Bondar as the sole owner of a large home situated on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard, in the city limits of Heath.
Bondar confirmed to News 4, he still owns that house in Texas, among others.
“We still have that,” Bondar said. “I still have a couple. I still have a house in Illinois. I still have two houses in Michigan. We have various different rental properties and things of that nature. And so we’re going to look at that as we go along here. I did liquidate two other houses recently to help fund my investment with our properties that we purchased in Oklahoma.”
In their ad attacking Bondar, Cole’s campaign alleged Bondar registered to vote at his Texas address as recently as March.
News 4 asked Bondar, “is that true?”
“100 percent it is,” Bondar responded. “I have a property here. And if you look at voting laws, I own a property and I what I voted on was I voted on state policies regarding IDs being necessary for voting. The idea to have paper ballots in an elections and the idea to have tougher immigration now as a land now as a landholder in a person, I can vote, I can vote in in a number of different places for the particular issues of those places that that is absolutely true.”
News 4 conducted the interview with Bondar over Zoom.
News 4 asked Bondar if he could clarify what he meant when he said “I have a property here” in his response to the question about whether he was registered to vote in Texas.
“Are you in Texas right now,” News 4 asked Bondar.
“I’m in an office right now,” Bondar responded.
“Is that office in Texas,” News 4 asked Bondar.
After a 10 second pause, Bondar responded.
“You’re… you’re… you’re cutting out for me,” Bondar told News 4.
“Sorry. Is that is that office in Texas? I just was wondering because you said you had a property here in, like, when you were talking about Texas,” News 4 responded.
After another few second delay, Bondar responded.
“Yeah, Yeah, I’m at the No, I was at the. I’m at the town or I was at the town of Duncan last night,” Bondar said. “And right now. All right, now I am—I am at an office.”
“Is that office in Oklahoma,” News 4 asked in response.
“No, I’m not in Oklahoma right now,” Bondar answered.
While Bondar was not in Oklahoma on Friday, he told News 4 he had been busy the past few weeks going from town to town in OK-4’s boundaries.
He told News 4 he plans to return to Oklahoma next week.
“I’ll be back in Oklahoma,” Bondar said. “I think all next week we’re going to be back up there. It’s the weekend right now.”
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