Both candidates are fifth-generation Oklahomans and lawyers with experience at Crowe Dunlevy.
They hold some similar positions; both want to continue current Attorney General Gentner Drummond's work targeting illegal marijuana grows and challenging the controversial aluminum smelter planned for Inola.
But they also disagree on religious charter schools, the attorney general's role in managing federal conflict and abortion.
Here's where they stand on some of the big issues:
Jon Echols
Echols served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for 12 years, from 2012-2024. During that time, he was also the house majority leader. He is also a business owner and the co-founder of Turn Key Health Clinics.
He said he's a proven conservative, stating he has the support of 60 county sheriffs.
"My viewpoint is the attorney general is the lawyer for the taxpayers of the state of Oklahoma. It is your lawyer … and by the way, that's both Republicans and Democrats," Echols said. "I'm a conservative Republican, but I'm going to represent everybody, and we're going to use that office to make sure state government follows the law."
Nick Coffey
Coffey is a former federal prosecutor for the Western District of Oklahoma from 2019-2025, having served in the organized crime division.
He said Oklahoma does not need a hyperpartisan attorney general, saying his experience trying Mexican cartels and the Irish mob makes him suitable for the state's top legal authority.
"If you want accountability, elect a prosecutor," Coffey said. "Politicians, they solve problems. Ideally, they solve problems … but they don't really hold people accountable. And that's what Oklahoma needs right now is accountability."
Religious charter schools
Echols said he supported the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School that was planned for Oklahoma and entered into an amicus brief in favor of the project. It would have been the first publicly funded religious school in the country, but the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.
Current Attorney General General Drummond, also a Republican, opposed the plan, having brought the case to the court.
Echols said he differs from Drummond in that regard. He said his support for religious charter schools would translate to any religion "in theory," such as a Jewish institution that failed to progress past the state school board earlier this month.
"We believe that if we give parents more authority and we invest in children, both in the public education system and give parents more options, that that's going to raise these horrific education outcomes that we have inside the state of Oklahoma that we've got to do something about," Echols said.
Coffey said he doesn't support the use of taxpayer dollars going to religious education, stating such a proposal is unconstitutional.
"I'm never going to fault anybody that wants to raise their kid in the faith, ever. But we don't need to use public education dollars to do that," Coffey said. "We don't need to make Monday schools, Sunday schools."
'McGirt', tribal sovereignty
Coffey proposes developing an information sharing system between the state and tribes to smooth jurisdictional gaps created by McGirt v. Oklahoma, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed half of Oklahoma is Indian Country and that tribes have Major Crimes authority over its citizenry.
"I can make sure that there are clear lines of communication between local law enforcement and tribes to make sure that every single crime, regardless of whether it's being committed in Indian Country or not, is being prosecuted and that victims aren't going ignored again," Coffey said. " ... My job is to not bring frivolous lawsuits that would harm that relationship such that the greater issue of compacts can still be negotiated out."
Echols said the state and tribal governments have been at odds for years, and that he wants to bring people together.
"Now, if we can't find a way to do that, I know where the courthouse is," Echols said. " … When we continue to just handle our tribal relations by lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit, we are federalizing Oklahoma law, and we are giving Oklahoma law to nine Supreme Court justices that probably can't find Oklahoma on a map and surely haven't been here and have any interest in how we do things here."
Representing Oklahoma in legal matters, state and federal
Echols said his experience working with state agencies while in the legislature qualifies him to represent the state government in legal matters.
He said when it comes to the federal government, the state should be working with the Trump administration due to Oklahoma's political makeup.
"The job of the attorney general is to work with President Trump, to work with ICE, to work with his state agencies. But we don't know who's going to be the next president in two years," Echols said. "There's a strong chance if we have an extreme liberal president … that you'll need a proven attorney general who knows when to defend the state of Oklahoma against an overreaching federal government."
Coffey said he wants to ensure both the state and federal governments follow the law when it comes to Oklahoma.
"The question on whether to bring suit against the federal government, it should never depend on who is in the White House. It should never depend on whether it is politically convenient," Coffey said. "That's why it's important to have an actual attorney in this role and not a hyper-partisan."
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.
