The race snagging the most headlines is the runoff for the Republican nomination for governor, and for good reason. Polling shows a tight race — even if prediction markets seem to favor one candidate.
There are other statewide races to watch, including GOP runoffs for State Superintendent, Insurance Commissioner and Labor Commissioner. On the other side of the aisle, Democrats will decide who to nominate for a U.S. Senate race against Republican Congressman Kevin Hern in November.
For independents barred from participating in partisan primaries, they can cast a ballot on the two state questions. The issues include property tax tweaks and enshrining voter identification requirements already in place by statute in the state constitution.
You can view upcoming elections in your area and find your polling location and hours on the Oklahoma Voter Portal. Early voting is Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and continues Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 25, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Governor - Republican Party
The tug-o-war to become Oklahoma's Republican nominee for Governor comes to an end next Tuesday, after a fiery two months of campaigning from the party's top contenders.
In June, Oklahomans elected Trump-endorsed business man and financial planner Mike Mazzei and incumbent state attorney general Gentner Drummond as their top two Republican picks. The two candidates share many priorities, while differing on what they consider the best approach to accomplishing what they promise.
Both say they want to get rid of the state income tax, though Drummond has expressed concern with slashing state revenues without a sure-fire way to replace them.
Mazzei has said he plans to compete with nearby states by cutting Oklahoma's personal and corporate income taxes. The idea is to attract more business to the state and stimulate the economy, he said. Drummond says economic growth will be spurred by ensuring Oklahomans are educated and physically and mentally healthy enough to work the jobs required of them.
Both say they support property tax relief for veterans and seniors. Mazzei is promising the more gung-ho approach of eliminating the tax completely for the specific groups, while Drummond worries about cutting essential public safety and education dollars for local jurisdictions – he vows to strengthen the homestead exemption instead.
When it comes to education, both candidates said they support a system with strong literacy reforms, third-grade retention requirements and recruiting and retention incentives for qualified teachers.
They disagree on whether Oklahomans' tax dollars should be used to fund religious charter schools. Mazzei backs the idea, aligning with President Trump on the safely Republican view that governments should subsidize the most options for parents to educate their children, including private and religious schools.
While Drummond supports school choice, he draws the line at state-funded religious schools, calling the idea a violation of the First Amendment's establishment of religion clause.
Another primary issue this campaign season has been the possibility of an aluminum smelter being constructed in Inola. Drummond rejects the smelter, calling it a transfer of Oklahoma land to the United Arab Emirates, which is funding the project. He even sued to try and stop it from moving forward.
Mazzei, once a critic of smelter himself, now supports it, in part because it has Trump's support too. He also thinks it's an unparalleled economic opportunity for the state.
The race to represent the Republican Party is looking tight according to recent polls, even though the prediction markets have Mazzei winning by a wide margin.
The winner of the Republican runoff will compete against Democrat nominee and House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson and Independents Robert Brooks, Orlando Lynn Bush and Jerry Griffin in November.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction - Republican Party
Republican voters will choose their party's candidate for Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction in the runoff election.
Robert Franklin was the leading vote getter in June's crowded seven candidate primary, with 22.6% of the vote. He has more than four decades of teaching experience as a special education teacher, principal and assistant superintendent at Sand Springs Public Schools, as well as an administrator at Tulsa Technology Center. An Oklahoma Educator Hall of Fame member, Franklin also served on the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board for six years. He supports parental involvement in education, school choice with accountability and creating career pathways for graduating students.
James Taylor, who finished second in the June primary with 19.7% of the vote, is a pastor and teaches U.S. history and government in Little Axe High School. He formerly taught at Oklahoma City Public Schools before being fired in 2021 for refusing to wear a face covering during the COVID-19 pandemic. His priorities include teacher recruitment and retention, education policy reform and boosting student achievement in reading, writing and math.
The winner will face the Democratic nominee Jennettie Marshall, a pastor and former Tulsa school board member.
The current state superintendent is Lindel Fields, who was appointed after Ryan Walters resigned to lead an anti-teacher's union group. Walters' tenure was marked by controversy, including a push to include Christian beliefs and Bible stories in social studies standards. Taylor said he supported Walters' efforts and wants to reinstate those social studies standards, despite the Oklahoma Supreme Court throwing them out. Franklin, on the other hand, has been critical of Walters' tenure, telling Oklahoma Voice that it's imperative to not have a state superintendent "who makes things toxic and castigates public educators."
Insurance Commissioner - Republican Party
Bob Sullivan and Marty Quinn are the top two Republicans vying for their party's nomination to be Oklahoma's next Insurance Commissioner. Both candidates are long-time insurance industry professionals. Quinn served in both the Oklahoma House (from 2010-2014) and Senate (from 2014-2022), where he also served as the Senate Insurance Committee Chair.
In June, Sullivan won the first round of primaries, earning 37.4% of votes cast, while Quinn came in second with about 27.7%. There were two other Republican opponents in June who got about 64,000 votes each, which Sullivan and Quinn are now in competition to capture, along with additional Republican voters who may turn out.
Both candidates say their priorities are reducing insurance costs for consumers and improving the transparency of providers. They've pledged to increase competition by recruiting more insurance carriers and hold insurance companies accountable on claim payments and denials.
There are several active lawsuits surrounding denied homeowners insurance claims by major sellers like State Farm and Allstate. There is also litigation around the restructuring of certain insurance companies from mutual to stock ownership structures.
The Insurance commissioner's role is to regulate the overall market while balancing the interests of Oklahomans and the companies selling them insurance. It's a heavy lift, as Oklahomans reportedly pay the most for homeowners insurance when compared to residents of any other state.
The winner of the runoff election Tuesday will face Democrat Craig MacIntyre in November.
Commissioner of Labor - Republican Party
At the polls, registered Republican voters will have their choice between two candidates for the next Labor Commissioner. State Representatives John Pfeiffer and Kevin West are both vying for a GOP nomination to compete in the general election.
The Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor is an elected executive officer responsible for enforcing state labor laws. The four-year position focuses on promoting the welfare of wage earners, improving working conditions and enhancing safety regulations.
Pfeiffer, 39, is the Deputy Floor Leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. At the State Capitol, Pfeiffer focused on rural issues, agriculture and other efforts, such as speeding up access to public records and removing discriminatory language from old land records.
His top campaign priorities include standing up to federal overreach, promoting worker freedom and reducing "burdensome regulations that hurt small businesses and stall job growth," according to his website. Pfeiffer is a United States Marine Corps veteran and a life-long cattle rancher.
West, 58, is finishing up his fifth term as a lawmaker. At the Capitol, West has authored measures banning sex marker changes on state driver's licenses and birth certificates. He also helped author Senate Bill 672, which prohibits the governor from closing any businesses during a pandemic "without documented scientific evidence that the nature of the business actually contributes to the spread of the disease."
West's top priorities include rebuilding the pipeline of skilled trades, promoting safety and supporting small business owners and contractors, according to his website. West studied construction and business at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. After graduating, he spent several years working in cabinet shops before opening his own business in Oklahoma City.
West earned 41.8% of the vote to Pfeiffer's 35.3% in a four-way race during June's primary.
The winner of the GOP primary will face off against unopposed Democratic and Libertarian candidates, Kevin Dawson and Mike Hall.
U.S. Senate - Democratic Party
The Democratic runoff for U.S. Senate pits Chickasaw citizen and nurse N'Kiyla "Jasmine" Thomas against employment lawyer Jim Priest.
The Senate seat became open when Markwayne Mullin was chosen by President Donald Trump to be his Secretary of Homeland Security in March.
Thomas, who received 45.2% of the vote in June's primary, lists education reform, healthcare access expansion and economic justice as some of her top priorities.
Priest finished a distant second in June's primary with 23.9% of the vote. His priorities include focusing on family finances, access to essential services like healthcare and education and restoring trust in America.
The winner of the Aug. 25 runoff will face Congressman Kevin Hern, who is leaving his current position to run for Senate. Hern, who was endorsed by Trump, cruised to victory in the Republican primary with nearly 70% of the vote. Independents Ron Meinhardt and Curtis Stinnet and Libertarian Sevier White will also appear on the November ballot.
It has been 36 years since Oklahoma voters last elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate.
Oklahoma County Commissioner, District 1 - Democrat Party
Two candidates face a runoff election in the Democratic primary for Oklahoma County Commissioner in District 1, after no one received 50% of the vote in the June primary.
Incumbent Jason Lowe garnered 49.3% of the vote in June, roughly 150 votes short of winning the primary outright. Since being elected in 2025, the former state lawmaker has moved to dissolve the county jail trust and clashed with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber over a proposed sales tax to fund the construction of a new jail.
The challenger is Kayla Baker, who received 27.9% of the vote in June. Her priorities include healthcare access, affordable housing and improving transparency, accountability and responsible management of the county jail.
There are no Republican, Libertarian or Independent candidates for the District 1 seat, so the winner of the runoff election will claim the four-year position which begins in January.
State Question 846
State Question 846 could enshrine existing voter ID requirements into the State Constitution:
Here is the short gist voters will see on their ballot:
"Each voter shall present proof of identity to the appropriate election official when voting at any election authorized by law and conducted by a county election board or the State Election Board. Proof of identity shall be required for any method of voting authorized by law. The Legislature shall enact laws necessary to specify the requirements for proof of identity for voting as required by this section."
The idea pitched by Republicans who support the question, like House Speaker Kyle Hilbert and Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, is to protect Oklahoma's elections from future lawmakers who may want to make it easier for non-elligible people to vote. They've cited widespread public support for mandated proof of ID at the polls.
Per state statute a valid form of voter ID is an Oklahoma, U.S. or tribal issued document with:
- A name that "substantially conforms" to the name in the voter rolls
- A photograph of the person
- A valid expiration date (military IDs are exempt)
Opponents of the question — including Democrats in the legislature and civic engagement groups — worry the question's language gives the Republican-led legislature the power to update what those rules are as they see fit, especially because of the last sentence in the ballot language.
All voters, regardless of party affiliation will see State Questions 846 and 844 on their ballot.
State Question 844
State Question 844 could change how much reimbursement schools and other local entities receive as compensation for a property tax exemption given to new and expanding manufacturing facilities.
Oklahoma voters approved the exemption in 1985 on the condition that local governments would be reimbursed by the state for the full value of the lost revenue.
Currently, the state allocates one percent of its income tax collections to this reimbursement, but for decades, extra appropriations have been required to cover the cost.
State Question 844 attempts to mitigate this problem by giving the legislature the authority to revise the reimbursement process. The ballot text doesn't indicate specific ways in which that should be done, except to "ensure that no individual county receives reimbursement in an amount detrimental to other Oklahoma counties."
Mayes County, which is home to a Google data center in Pryor, received about 40% of the reimbursement dollars this year. Data centers are currently ineligible for the exemption, but the Google facility was grandfathered in for the new equipment exemption through 2036.
Changes to the reimbursement process could include only partially compensating localities for the tax revenue lost to the exemption.
Opponents, like Pryor Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Muller, worry that could lead to reduced funding for schools, bringing layoffs and reduced course offerings. Question author and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said that his intent would be only to change the reimbursement rate for future projects. He also suggested that the state's recouped revenue could be redistributed to schools based on need.
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.
