Kevin Stitt wins reelection for Oklahoma Governor, Ryan Walters becomes State Superintendent

View results from the Oklahoma State Election Board.

Kevin Stitt wins reelection for Oklahoma's Governor

Oklahoma voters re-elected Kevin Stitt as Oklahoma’s Governor for another four years.

The Republican incumbent won re-election with 55% of the vote over Democrat Joy Hofmeister, who had 42% of the vote. Some predicted – and local polling indicated – she was making a push to make the race close. That proved to be incorrect, as Hofmeister received about 20,000 votes fewer than Democratic candidate for Governor Drew Edmondson did in 2018.

Stitt and Hofmeister had been allies, but sparred during the pandemic over issues related to masking in public schools.

Stitt was first elected in 2018 as a political outsider and has often governed as one, too. During his first term, he was at odds with leaders of his own party in the legislature and the state’s Native American tribes. The state’s five largest tribes even endorsed Hofmeister, the first such move in recent memory.

Stitt ran harder to the right, rallying his base late in the campaign while hosting rallies with national GOP figures like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Hofmeister ran on what she called an “aggressively moderate,” platform that prioritized issues like public education and healthcare access in a state that fares poorly in national rankings for both metrics.

Nonpartisan polling leading up to the election showed her moderation allowed her to garner support from centrists in her former party, as Stitt drifted further right, championing private school vouchers and privatizing the state’s Medicaid program. And that strategy appears to have paid off in a state where more than half of registered voters are Republicans and less than 30 percent are Democrats.

Libertarian Natalie Bruno and Independent Ervin Yen each came in with about 1.4% of the overall vote.

Walters elected to oversee Oklahoma's public schools

Ryan Walters will be Oklahoma's next State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The race between Walters and his Democratic opponent Jena Nelson had months worth of attention-grabbing headlines in the bid to replace term-limited State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, who left her role to run for governor. In the end, the Republican won by nearly 14 percentage points.

Walters is a familiar name in state government. Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Walters as the Secretary of Education in 2020. He’s promoted conservative causes like enforcing Oklahoma’s so-called critical race theory ban House Bill 1775. Walters has also campaigned on expanding school choice by offering private school vouchers and barring transgender students from using the restroom corresponding with their gender identity.

Nelson — the 2020 statewide teacher of the year — made a name for herself by advocating for public education funding. She campaigned on public school funding and improving the availability of mental health resources for students. She also fiercely opposed private school vouchers.

Democrat Behenna beats Republican Calvey in Oklahoma County DA race

In the Oklahoma County District Attorney race, Democrat Vicki Behenna has beat Republican Kevin Calvey, a county commissioner, by nearly nine percentage points.

Behenna is a former federal prosecutor who worked on the prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombing.

District attorneys are the top law enforcement officials in their local county or district. They are on the ballot every four years, but do not have term limits. Behenna will take over for David Prater, a Democrat who has held the office for 15 years.

Voter turnout down from 2018

A little more than half of registered voters turned out to cast their ballots Tuesday.

Turnout was 50.3%, or more than 1.1 million voters. That number is roughly 34,000 less than what voter turnout was in the last midterm election in 2018, which sawvoter turnout of more than 1,186,000.

As ofthe latest voter statistics from the Oklahoma State Election Board, nearly 2.3 million voters are registered in Oklahoma. There has been a net increase of more than 175,000 voters since November 2018.

Republicans make up over half of Oklahoma’s voting population at 51.19%, while Democrats make up 29.95% . It's the first time that official voter statistics show Democrats at less than 30% of registered voters.

Independents make up the third largest group in Oklahoma's voting population at 18% - and Libertarians make up less than 1%.

In the two largest counties — Oklahoma and Tulsa — there has been significant growth in Independent voters, while also seeing decreases in the Republican and Democratic party in those counties.

Lankford, Mullin take Oklahoma's U.S. Senate seats

The race to finish out the term of retiring U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe ended with a definitive 62%-35% win from U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin over former Democratic congresswoman Kendra Horn.

Mullin has represented Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District for the last decade. Outside of politics, he also runs his family’s plumbing business, Mullin Plumbing.

As a U.S. Representative, Mullin sponsored legislation toprohibit mask mandates,expand rural access to broadband,classify late-term abortion as murder and resolutions toexpunge former President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

Mullin is a Cherokee tribal citizen and will be the only tribal citizen serving in the Senate. He is also the first Native American in the U.S. Senate in nearly 20 years.

According to Mullin’scampaign website, he characterizes himself as a “tried-and-true conservative leader who will NEVER BACK DOWN to the D.C. liberal elites.” Mullin has said he’s “100% pro-life,” andfavors a national ban on abortion without any exceptions for when the mother’s life is at risk or in cases of rape or incest.

As for cannabis, Mullinsaid he was against the legalization of medical cannabis in Oklahoma andis opposed to descheduling it.

Third party candidates made up about 3% of the vote, with Libertarian Robert Murphy taking about 2% and Independent Roy Woods taking about 1%.

In the other Senate race, incumbent James Lankford's race was quickly called after polls closed. He beat Democrat Madison Horn by a vote of 64% to 32%. Libertarian Kenneth Blevins and Independent Michael Delaney each finished with nearly 2% of the vote. Lankford has held the seat since 2015. Oklahoma U.S. Senators are elected to serve six-year terms.

Lucas, Hern, Cole & Bice win reelection, Brecheen heads to D.C.

It was a clean sweep for Republicans in Congressional seats.

Republican Kevin Hern secured re-election for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District over Democrat Adam Martin and Independent Evelyn Rogers.

Republican Tom Cole secured re-election for Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District over Democrat Mary Brannon.

Republican Stephanie Bice secured re-election for Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District over Democrat Joshua Harris-Till and Independent David Frosch.

Republican Frank Lucas —who has served in Congress since 1994 — won re-election to Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District over Democratic challenger Jeremiah Ross. Oklahoma’s Third Congressional District spans 32 counties in northern and western Oklahoma, stretching from the Oklahoma panhandle to parts of Tulsa, and from Yukon to Altus in the southwest.

We know who will replace Markwayne Mullin in the U.S. House District 2 seat. Republican Josh Brecheen, a former state senator and Congressional staffer, beat out Democrat Naomi Andrews and Independent Bulldog Ben Robinson. The seat represents much of the eastern part of Oklahoma, with more than 791,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census. The Congressional District also covers a good portion of Native land.

Oklahoma City Public Schools infrastructure bonds pass

Oklahoma City Public Schools asked voters for almost $1 billion to make infrastructure improvements across the district. The bond will pay for some big projects: five new schools, a new multisport stadium and a bevy of renovations across the district. The bond issue will increase property taxes within OKCPS boundaries from 18 mills to 26 mills. That represents a rise of $8 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Republicans maintain supermajority in state legislature

Oklahoma Republicans maintained their 80% supermajority in both chambers. Only two seats shifted party in last night’s election: One in the Senate and one in the House.

Owasso Sen. JJ Dossett lost to his Republican opponent, Dana Prieto. Dossett was one of nine Democrats in the Senate, and he was the only one who consistently voted for anti-abortion legislation. Prieto refers to himself as very conservative and a far-right Republican, according to reporting by NonDoc.

Tulsa Republican Carol Bush did not run to keep her House seat. She was a moderate. Democratic candidate Suzanne Schrieber nabbed the seat. According to her campaign website, she focused on education and fighting extremism.

Other elections on Tuesday

Republican Gentner Drummond easily won the Attorney General seat, beating Libertarian Lynda Steele by a vote of 73.76% to 26.24%. There was no Democratic challenger.

Drummond had been vying for the seat for some time. He ran against former Attorney General Mike Hunter in 2018 and again this year against current incumbent John O’Connor, beating him in a runoff. Drummond also has support from several tribal leaders at a time when the relationship between tribes and state leadership are tense over issues like tribal sovereignty, gaming compacts and tribal jurisdiction.

Oklahoma's Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell won reelection for the second highest office in the executive branch. Pinnell grabbed 64.87% of the vote over Democrat Melinda Alizadeh-Fard, who had 31.01%. Libertarian Chris Powell received 4.12% of the vote.

Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn will oversee workplace rights and safety issues in the state for another four years.

Before serving her first term, Osborn served a decade in the state legislature as a representative. She campaigned to expand efforts to educate high school students on skilled worker career tracks, such as plumbing and electricity, to fill those workforce shortages, according toThe Oklahoman.

Osborn secured the Republican nomination against term-limited state Rep. Sean Roberts in the runoff.

Osborn won Tuesday's race by a vote of 66% to 29% over her Democratic opponent Jack Henderson. Libertarian opponent Will Daugherty finished with 5% of the vote. The state agency oversees worker’s compensation systems and inspects the safety of workplaces.

Term-limited State Representative Todd Russ will be Oklahoma’s next State Treasurer. He received 65% of the vote against Libertarian opponent Greg Sadler and Democrat Charles de Coune.

Russ’s campaign highlighted his experience as a banker and his roles on financial committees in the state legislature.Russ told NonDoc that as treasurer he intends to examine the state’s Unclaimed Property Program.

Russ is only the fourth Republic to serve as Oklahoma’s state treasurer, but the GOP has held the office since 2011.

With a 64% to 31% victory, Porter Sen. Kim David took the Corporation Commission seat over Democrat Warigia Margaret Bowman, an energy and environment professor at the University of Tulsa.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission regulates utility and telecommunications companies, as well as oil and gas drilling. Terms for the Corporation Commission are six years long, and commissioners can serve two times.

David has been a member of the Oklahoma Senate since 2010 anddescribes herself as a conservative, a “military mom” and a small business owner, running the property management companySweetgum Properties, Inc. She worked in petroleum marketing for about a decade after graduating with a degree in petroleum geology.

David supported the Corporation Commission’s passage of a utility securitization plan that allowed some Oklahoma energy companies to surcharge consumers’ monthly bills to make up for the 2021 winter storm, saying the plan prevented the costs from being passed on directly to the consumer in a way that would’ve bankrupted families.

Independent Don Underwood also ran for the commission, garnering about 6% percent of the vote.

With 100% of results in, citizens of the McCurtain County community of Hochatown in far southeastern Oklahoma have decided to incorporate their tiny tourist town.

Money has poured into the town from south of the Red River as it has grown into a tourist destination. Incorporation means more local control within the community and allows for the collection of lodging and sales taxes, paying for fire and police protection and other public services.

The final vote tally was 129 votes for the proposition to 18 against. The community has fewer than 300 residents.

Voters in Moore have overwhelming approved keeping a 3.875% sales tax in place, by a vote of 70.2% to 29.8%. The tax pays for public safety improvements and has funded police and fire department vehicles as well as street repairs in the past. The tax will now continue through March 2027.

By a vote of 58.3% to 41.7%, Collinsville voters have approved a half cent sales tax that will go toward funding a new fire station on the west side of the growing suburb, as well as a potential police station expansion.

Voters in Kay County have approved a sales tax increase to help fund rural fire departments, by a vote of 55.3% to 44.7%. Supporters say it will help fund improvements for fire and EMS services throughout Kay County. Ponca City commissioners criticized the proposition and declined to pass a resolution supporting it.

This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.