The last two weeks we published the governor and lieutenant governor’s races, the State Auditor, Attorney General, State Treasurer and Superintendent of Education races This week the races for Labor, Insurance and Corporation Commissioners.
The candidate filing period for offices for the 2026 Oklahoma elections will be April 1-3, and numerous candidates have already announced for the various offices. In non-presidential election years, a host of state offices are up for election. The list includes the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor and Inspector, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Labor Commissioner, Insurance Commissioner, and one of the seats on the Corporation Commission. The Republican candidates won all of these statewide races in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. The Primary Elections will be held on June 16, 2026, and the Runoff Primary Elections on August 25, 2026. The General Election will be on November 3, 2026.
LABOR COMMISSIONER
Commissioner of Labor Leslie Osborn was first elected to the office in 2018 and was reelected in 2022. She cannot run for reelection in 2026 due to term-limits.
State Rep. John Pfeiffer (R-Mulhall) has officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in April. The Marine Corps veteran is a rancher in Logan County. He was elected to District 38 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2014 and cannot run for reelection in 2026 due to term-limits. During his legislative career he was been one of the more politically moderate Republicans, earning only a 56% cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.
Lisa Janloo, 35, was the second Republican candidate to announce for Labor Commissioner. She is the State Director of the L.U.C.A Foundation (Latinos United for Conservative Action) which works to bring conservative communities into political spaces. She grew up alongside her father, who immigrated to the U.S. after the Iranian Revolution, helping to run their family-owned business. She founded a homeschool program during COVID-19 pandemic. Janloo is Vice President of the Spencer Chamber of Commerce and the Chair of the Spencer Parks Board. She ran for a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representative in 2022 and for the Spencer City Council in 2023.
State Rep. Kevin West (R-Moore) is the latest candidate to join the race for the Republican nomination. Rep. West was first elected in 2016 and reelected in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024. has built a strong record of advancing pro-business legislation and strengthening Oklahoma’s workforce. He has held manufacturing jobs, worked in the commercial cabinet industry, and owned and operated his own cabinet shop. During his legislative career he was been one of the more politically conservative Republicans, earning an 81% cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
Current Republican Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready was first elected in 2018 and is completing his second and final term due to term-limits. Two candidates have announced campaigns for the Republican nomination.
Chris Merideth is running for the Republican nomination for the open seat in 2026. Merideth has nearly 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. Merideth says he will focus on four key areas during the campaign. They are consumer protection without overreach, business-friendly reforms, lower costs and greater access, and opposing federal overreach.
Former State Representative and State Senator Marty Quinn of (R-Claremore), now of Oklahoma City, has joined the race for the GOP nomination. In 2022 he was term-limited for his state senate seat and ran for the open seat for the Congress in the Second District, losing the GOP nomination in the crowded primary. During his time in the Senate, he earned a 72% cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index. Quinn, 65, has spent his professional career in the insurance business, and was Chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee where he worked to cut red tape, improve transparency, and protect consumers.
CORPORATION COMMISSIONER
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission regulates oil and gas drilling, electric and gas utilities, trucking, pipelines, and telecommunications in Oklahoma. There are three Corporation Commission seats with six-year staggered terms. So, every two years one of the seats is up for reelection. The seat held by Republican Todd Hiett is up for election this year. Hiett cannot run for reelection this year due to Term Limits. The other incumbents are Commissioners Kim David and Brian Bingman. Two Republicans have registered campaigns for the open seat.
Justin Hornback, 42, of Broken Arrow has run twice previously and is making another run in 2026. He was the first to announce for the open seat this time. Hornback’s career in the energy industry has provided him with a unique perspective on the issues facing the Corporation Commission. He has over two decades of experience in the energy industry, with knowledge concerning transmission pipelines, energy generation, regulations, and safety. He has worked as a Pipeline Welder/Welding Inspector/Specialist in Safety and Health. He also worked with the leadership of the Pipeliners Union 798 between 2017 and 2021. He previously ran for a seat on the Corporation Commission in 2022, finishing in third place in the Republican Primary. He ran again in 2024 and finished in second place in the GOP Primary.
State Representative Brad Boles, 41, of Marlow has also announced for the Republican nomination for the Corporation Commission seat. Boles is the chairman of the House Energy & Natural Resources Oversight Committee. He was first elected to the seat in the Oklahoma House in a special election March 2018 and won a full two-year term in November 2018. He was reelected in 2020, 2022 and 2024. He has a 73% cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.
More candidates are expected to announce their campaigns for the various state offices in the coming months. Once incumbents who are not term-limited announce if they are running for reelection, other candidates may emerge. And, with many more members of the Oklahoma Legislature reaching term-limits next year, some will attempt the leap to higher office.