TRANSCRIPT
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley. Shawn, the 2026 General Election is over. And the big story nationally is a dramatic and unexpectedly large surge of Democratic wins. In Oklahoma - no surprise - it was the Republican Party that dominated statewide and House and Senate races. Republicans took every statewide seat, congressional seats and won all the contested state Senate races. Republican Mike Mazzei defeated Democrat Cyndi Munson and three independents to claim the governor's race.
Shawn Ashley: It was a strong Republican showing in Oklahoma, and that's something we've seen every election cycle for at least the last 16 years. Mazzei won 73 of the state's 77 counties and Munson captured the remaining four, amounting to 52% of the votes for Mazzei and 46% for Munson, with the remainder split up among the independents. State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Bird, who was term limited and ran for state treasurer, was really the big winner in Tuesday night's race. She received the most votes of any statewide candidate, more than 780,000, and the largest percentage, 75.4%, in her race.
Dick Pryor: For the third straight election, Mazzei did not score an overwhelming win. He claimed the governor's office with a little under 52% of the vote, a margin of 67,000 votes statewide. And his percentage of the votes was the smallest among all statewide winners.
Shawn Ashley: We need to remember, Mazzei finished second in the June primary election, but went on to defeat Attorney General Gentner Drummond in the primary runoff. You noted his percentage of the vote was the smallest of all the winning statewide candidates. He also received the fewest votes of all those candidates. Now here's what's totally funny about that. We were having this same conversation eight years ago regarding then Governor-elect Kevin Stitt. He finished second in the primary, won the primary runoff, and was elected governor with the lowest vote count of any statewide candidate on the ballot that year.
Dick Pryor: Good callback, Shawn. Cyndi Munson gained almost 46% of the vote, the best Democratic showing in a gubernatorial race since Brad Henry's reelection in 2006. And she did it with Democratic registration standing at only 25%.
Shawn Ashley: Yes, outgoing House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson obviously grabbed some Independent votes, some Libertarian votes, and definitely some Republican votes in her campaign. She received the most votes of any of the statewide Democratic candidates on the ballot this year, and if you compare her results Tuesday to those of Joy Hofmeister in 2022 and Drew Edmondson in 2018 when they ran for governor, she outperformed both of them, while Mazzei underperformed Stitt's original election in 2018 and his re-elect bid in 2022.
Dick Pryor: Although Republicans maintained their supermajority in the state House, Democrats did add six seats, the party's biggest gain in more than 20 years. Is there anything to make of that?
Shawn Ashley: There are several different ways to look at that number. It was the first time since 2018 that House Democrats had flipped a seat. Five of those seats were won by beating incumbent Republicans, and that's rather significant. The sixth seat was open, but it had previously been held by a Republican, as well. And while there's been a lot of talk nationally about the “blue wave” that has swept across the country, if you look at the increase in House Democrats, it was 30%. Greater than we're seeing at the national level, or that I'm aware of in any other state legislature.
Dick Pryor: Voter participation in Oklahoma is at or near the bottom of all states. How did Oklahoma voters do in the midterms?
Shawn Ashley: Not particularly well. Turnout was 45.84%. State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax reported Monday, the day before the election, that voter registration had increased by more than 49,500 voters since January. But then he pointed out on Wednesday the total votes cast and the turnout percentage for this year's general election was down compared to the last two gubernatorial elections in 2022 and 2018.
Dick Pryor: With the general election over what's coming up next at the Capitol?
Shawn Ashley: Re-elected and newly elected senators will be sworn in November 16th. House members will be sworn in November 17th. And then guess what? Bill filing for the 2027 legislative session gets underway right away.
Dick Pryor: There is a lot of work ahead. Thank you, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: For more information, go to quorumcall.online. Audio and transcripts are at kgou.org. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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