The brewing tension revolves around a central question: Who gets to be Oklahoma's senator for the two months after the November general election results are certified?
Is it Gov. Kevin Stitt's appointee, Sen. Alan Armstrong? Or his elected replacement, who is likely to be current Rep. Kevin Hern?
As The Washington Sun first reported, both men want the spot.
Hern has already hired Oklahoma attorney Glenn Coffee to help make his case, just in case a legal battle ensues. Armstrong is banking on Stitt's support to carry him.
Armstrong wants to stay through January so he can work on his goal of permitting reform; Hern wants to be sworn in (assuming he wins, which is likely but not guaranteed) in November and continue his work in Congress.
Oklahoma law, which governs how the transition is supposed to go down, is unclear about the specifics of the process.
One relevant section of Oklahoma statute (Title 51, Section 15) reads: "Every appointed officer shall hold his office until the end of the term for which the officer whom he succeeds was elected or appointed, and until his successor is elected and qualified."
Another section (Title 26, Section 12-101 (C)(3)) says: "The candidate elected to the office at the regularly scheduled election shall be deemed to also have been elected to fill the vacancy and shall be eligible to assume the office upon the official certification of the election by the State Election Board."
Oklahoma State Senate Pro Temp Lonnie Paxton, who authored the language in the Title 51 section, is asking for a formal opinion on the matter from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Paxton asked Drummond in a Tuesday letter if the cut-off for the appointed Senator's term is when the state certifies election results, or when other elected office transitions usually happen in January.
He's also asking what power, if any, the governor has to decline or delay the State Election Board's certification of the election, once the results are determined to be true. Usually, the board certifies results within seven days of an election.
The attorney general hasn't issued an opinion, but Paxton has made an urgent case for a response, as the general election is fast approaching.
Meanwhile, former Oklahoma house speaker and current Republican candidate for Lt. Governor T. W. Shannon has weighed in on the social media platform X.
"This should not be a tough call," Shannon wrote. "We need to get Kevin Hern sworn in the moment his election is certified. Even a few months of additional seniority is incredibly valuable for Oklahoma."
