Last week we published the governor and lieutenant governor’s races, this week the State Auditor, Attorney General, State Treasurer and Superintendent of Education are addressed The other races will be published next week.
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.
STATE AUDITOR AND INSPECTOR
State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd is term-limited and running for lieutenant governor in 2026. Deputy State Auditor Melissa Capps of McLoud has announced she is running for the Republican nomination. Capps, 51, has served in the agency for over 25 years. In her first decade with the office, she worked in the State Agency Audit Division. She currently serves as the Director of the Performance Audit Division. Capps holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Central Oklahoma.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
With the current Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, seeking the governor’s office rather than running for reelection in 2026, the AG office will be an open seat. Two Republicans and a Democrat have registered with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.
Former state Representative Jon Echols (R-Oklahoma City) announced on February 26 as a candidate for the GOP nomination for Attorney General in 2026. He was the first candidate to declare for the post since Drummond announced his intention to run for Governor. Echols, 45, was elected to his west Oklahoma City House seat in 2012 and served eight years as Majority Floor Leader. He was unable to run for reelection in 2024 due to term-limits. During his legislative career he was been one of the more politically moderate Republicans, earning just a 65% cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.
Attorney Jeff Starling is also running for the Republican nomination. He was appointed by Governor Stitt last year as Secretary of Energy and Environment. Starling served as chief legal and administrative officer and corporate secretary at Lagoon Water Midstream. Before joining Lagoon, Starling was assistant general counsel at Devon Energy Corp., where he managed litigation efforts and supported operational business units. He also previously worked as a partner at McGuireWoods LLP in Richmond, Virginia, and served as a legislative aide to former U.S. Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University, and holds a law degree and a bachelor’s degree in political science.
In October, a Democrat announced for the office. Nick Coffey is a career prosecutor who recently left the U.S. Department of Justice. Coffey, 34, graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He worked at McAfee & Taft law firm before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma where he served for the past seven years.
STATE TREASURER
Republican State Treasurer Todd Russ was elected in 2022 and has announced he is running for reelection to second four-year term. Russ could not run for reelection to the Oklahoma House in 2022 due to Term Limits. He had a 68% cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index for the 12-years he served in the Oklahoma House. Russ, 65, of Cordell has more than 35 years of banking experience. He served as President and CEO of Washita State Bank in Burns Flat from 2003-2008. He sold the majority of his bank stock and began management consulting with banks and businesses in 2008. During his banking career, Russ served as a director of the Oklahoma Bankers Association (OBA) and Chairman of OBA’s Small Bank Council.
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
Republican Ryan Walters resigned as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, effective September 30, to become Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Teacher Freedom Alliance (TFA). On October 2, Governor Stitt named Lindel Fields of Tulsa to serve the remainder of Walters’ term which expires in January 2027. Fields said he will not seek election to the post next year.
Even before Walters revealed if he would run for reelection in 2026, several candidates had already announced their intention to run for the post. But, with the office becoming an open seat due to Walters’ resignation, more candidates have joined the race, while others dropped out. Three Republicans, two Democrats, and an independent candidate are currently running.
Republican Rob Miller had been a critic of Ryan Walters and in February became the first to announce a run for state superintendent. He has been an educator for 27 years and recently retired as superintendent of Bixby Public Schools where he had been superintendent since 2018.
Dr. John Cox joined the list of candidates in June. He is the long-time superintendent of Peggs Public Schools in eastern Oklahoma. Cox, 61, is a career government educator for over three decades working as a math teacher, coach, and administrator. He was the Democrat nominee for the office in 2014 and 2018, losing both times to Joy Hofmeister who was a Republican in those elections. In 2022 Cox switched parties and ran as a Republican and finished in third place in the GOP Primary.
State Senator Adam Pugh (R-Edmond) joined the race after Walters resigned and is the chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Pugh was first elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2016 and reelected in 2024. He is in the middle of his term and will continue to serve in the Senate while running for state superintendent. Due to legislative term limits he will not be able to run for reelection to the Senate in 2028. Senator Pugh has been one of the more moderate Republicans in the Legislature, with a 66% cumulative average score on the Oklahoma Conservative Index rating.
Democrat Jennette Marshall served for two terms on the Tulsa Public Schools board, but did not run for a third term this year. She is the founding Pastor of Living Sanctuary Evangelistic Ministries and has also served as a Chaplain for the Tulsa Police Department. She worked 17 years as a Probation and Parole Officer and case manager for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and three years as a Child Welfare Investigator with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Former El Reno Public Schools Superintendent Craig McVay spent 35 years in public schools doing almost every job. He became the second Democrat to enter the race.
Jerry Griffin is running as an Independent. He ran for the Tulsa Police and Fire Commission in 1974. He was elected to the Tulsa Public Schools board in 2020 and served for over three years until he resigned in 2024. In 2022 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Tulsa City Council.