A Republican leader on education policy in the Oklahoma Legislature is entering the 2026 race for state superintendent.
Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, announced his candidacy Thursday morning at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
“I’m the only person in this race that has kids in school today,” Pugh said. “So every day I’m living this. I see what’s happening inside of a classroom. I talk to my teachers. I like to tease my colleagues, they hear from their schools. I hear from everybody’s schools as the chair of education, so it kind of gives me a unique perspective.”
He said improving literacy rates through early childhood reading programs and increasing principal training are some policies he would focus on if elected.
Pugh leads the Senate Education Committee and a subcommittee on education funding. The Air Force veteran and aerospace industry entrepreneur was elected to the Legislature in 2016.
He joins an already crowded field running to become Oklahoma’s top education official. The winner of the 2026 General Election will lead the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Board of Education.
Pugh joins a Republican primary race against retired Bixby Public Schools Superintendent Rob Miller, current Peggs Public School Superintendent John Cox and Ana Landsaw, of Tahlequah. Retired El Reno Public Schools Superintendent Craig McVay, a Democrat, filed paperwork with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission to register a campaign this week. Former Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education members Jennettie Marshall, a Democrat, and Jerry Griffin, an independent, also are running.
Pugh enters the race with a lengthy policy record as a state lawmaker, particularly on issues impacting teachers and school funding.
He helped engineer Oklahoma’s last major teacher pay raise in 2023, which increased all teacher salaries by $3,000 to $6,000, giving higher sums to those with more years of experience. Since then, Pugh has advocated annually for another boost in teacher pay.
The Legislature started funding six weeks of maternity leave for teachers after Pugh filed legislation on the issue in 2023.
This year, Pugh and House Common Education Committee leader Dick Lowe co-authored a new law to extend the teacher salary schedule by 15 years, allowing educators to receive small wage increases annually for up to 40 years while working in the classroom.
The same law also lengthened the academic year for public schools by a day, setting the new minimum at 181 days or 1,086 hours. Lawmakers also plugged an extra $25 million into public school funding.
Other legislation from Pugh this year encoded in state law Gov. Kevin Stitt’s 2023 executive order that outlawed university spending on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Opposing DEI programs was a major policy goal for Oklahoma’s former state superintendent, Ryan Walters, as well.
Walters resigned from office on Tuesday to lead a conservative teacher nonprofit. He claimed to have eliminated DEI and “woke indoctrination” from public schools during his short tenure as superintendent.
Walters would have been eligible for a second four-year term in office, but he has not announced any intentions to launch another political campaign.
Pugh said if he’s elected, Oklahomans will see a “stark difference” in the tone and leadership from the office of state superintendent.
“It’s not about me. It’s not about the title of state superintendent,” he said. “It’s about a person who has a heart of service that keeps kids and parents and teachers at the focal point of everything that happens in the Oliver Hodge building. And I think if we do that, we’re going to be successful.”
Reporter Emma Murphy contributed to this story.
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