News On 6 in Tulsa and News 9 in Oklahoma City aired a televised debate Aug. 3 between Republican gubernatorial candidates Gentner Drummond and Mike Mazzei ahead of the Aug. 25 runoff election. Amanda Taylor and Craig Day moderated the statewide debate.

A disputed allegation involving Mike Mazzei’s brother became a major development following Monday night’s Republican gubernatorial runoff debate.

During the opening exchange over the proposed aluminum smelter near Inola, News 9 moderator Amanda Taylor asked Mazzei about a claim that his brother, Dan Mazzei, worked for a company chosen to design the smelter and whether that created a conflict of interest.

Mazzei denied the claim and called it false. Attorney General Gentner Drummond then said Mazzei’s family had been awarded a contract through Wallace Engineering.

Drummond’s campaign later acknowledged that the information was incorrect. The Tulsa World reported that Drummond campaign manager Matt Parker took responsibility for passing along the false information Drummond repeated during the debate.

That correction came after both candidates repeatedly accused each other of lying throughout the hour-long debate.

Mazzei pointed to political contributions attributed to Drummond, including a $1,000 contribution to Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. Drummond said his wife made the contribution, that it was refunded, and that he has supported both Republicans and Democrats through the years.

Drummond accused Mazzei of changing his position on the Inola smelter to secure President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Mazzei rejected that accusation and said his support is based on the project’s potential economic and national-security benefits.

The debate became confrontational early. Moderators repeatedly tried to bring both candidates back to the questions and enforce the time limits. Mazzei challenged the format several times, especially over rebuttal time. At one point, the moderators warned that microphones could be muted if the candidates continued speaking beyond their allotted time.

The smelter produced the clearest disagreement.

Drummond has sued to stop the project, arguing it could threaten nearby farms, livestock, air and water. Mazzei supports allowing the project to move forward if it meets environmental requirements and has called for independent monitoring.

Utility rates produced another sharp exchange.

Mazzei criticized Drummond for not doing more as attorney general to keep utility rates under control and called for more competition in Oklahoma’s electricity market.

Drummond defended his record and said large electricity users should pay for the infrastructure needed to serve them instead of shifting those costs to residential customers.

The candidates actually agreed on much of the data center issue.

Both said local communities should have a say and that large developments should protect water supplies and residential utility customers. Mazzei proposed four conditions, including local approval, no tax subsidies, independent power generation and closed-loop cooling. Drummond also emphasized local control, water conservation and requiring large users to pay for the electricity they use.

Taxes showed a bigger difference.

Mazzei continued to push his plan to eliminate Oklahoma’s personal income tax and phase out property taxes for seniors and veterans. Drummond warned that eliminating the income tax too quickly could require tax increases somewhere else or cuts to state services.

On several other issues, the candidates wanted similar results but had very different ideas about how to get there.

Mazzei repeatedly came back to waste, fraud and poor management. On education, he proposed hiring a statewide literacy director and using phonics-based reading reforms modeled after Mississippi.

Drummond focused more on making sure agencies had enough funding and resources. He said education would be his top priority and stressed that rural, suburban and urban schools face different problems.

The same difference showed up on childcare and mental health. Mazzei focused on regulations, DHS management and efficiency. Drummond focused more on funding, access and stronger agency leadership.

Their closing statements followed the same pattern.

Drummond framed the race around leadership and trust. Mazzei framed it around conservative policy, tax reform and his endorsement from Trump.

Republican voters will decide between the two candidates in the Aug. 25 runoff.