SENATOR ANDREW RICE
District 46 - Democrat
Andrew Rice was born in Oklahoma City on April 23rd, 1973. Rice was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate, District 46 in 2006, winning by nearly 70% of the vote. As a State Senator, Andrew Rice has been an unwaivering advocate for expanding children's health insurance, fighting hunger and food insecurity in Oklahoma, pushing for alternative energy expansion, and fighting for policies that protect working and middle class families in Oklahoma.

Rice graduated in 1996 from Colby College with a Bachelor's Degree in Religious Studies and a minor in African American Studies. After graduation, he was accepted to Harvard University Divinity School, but deferred his admission for one year to work and travel in Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. In Sri Lanka, he worked with the largest Grassroots NGO in Asia, helping with rural development in Village life and in the conflict zone. In Thailand, Rice worked for the country's largest private AIDS hospice and in India, he studied drug addiction problems and treatment in urban India.

Rice received his Masters in Theological Studies from the Harvard University Divinity School in 1999. While in graduate school, Andrew produced a documentary in Bangalore, India entitled "From Ashes" which focused on India's AIDS pandemic.

After graduate school, Andrew worked as a freelance documentary producer and editor. He worked on programs for the BBC and PBS, including segments for The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.

Andrew's older brother, David Rice, was killed in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th, 2001 and due to the tragedy, Andrew decided to rededicate his career to social justice work and political reforms. He worked for the Texas Freedom Network, which counters the influence of religious extremism in public policy. He is the founder of the Progressive Alliance Foundation which works throughout the state of Oklahoma advancing progressive, fair-minded and constitutional solutions to public policy problems. He also launched the Red River Democracy Project (RRDP) and is on the board of The People's Opinion Project.

Andrew is married to Dr. Apple Newman Rice who practices medicine in Oklahoma City. They have two sons, Noah David, who was born on Dec. 7th, 2004, and Parker Harrison, who was born on February 17th, 2007.