State offices in Oklahoma are determined in the non-presidential election years. This year there are a plethora of candidates in eight Republican primaries on the state level and three Democrat primaries. There are only three Democrat primaries because in five of the races only one Democrat filed and the winner of the Republican primary will run against that candidate in the November general election. Only one race will not be voted on in the primaries as Melissa Capps has won the State Auditor and Inspector election without a public vote as no one filed against her. In today’s issue we will cover the plethora of candidates in the Governor and Lieutenant Governor races.
In the race for governor current Gov. Kevin Stitt is term limited. Nine Republicans, three Democrats and three Independents filed for the race. There will be no primary for the Independents as there is no recognized Independent party.
The Republican primary for governor is a hotly contested race with several big names running.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond 62, of Hominy announced his candidacy in January of 2025. Drummond and Gov. Stitt have been at odds throughout his 3 year tenure as Attorney General. Drummond, 62, of Hominy, is an attorney, rancher and principal owner of Blue Sky Bank. He ran unsuccessfully for Attorney General in 2018 against Mike Hunter in the primary election , but won the primary and general elections in 2022. Although not active in the Republican Party before 2018, he had contributed to several Democrat campaigns that ran against Sen. Jim Inhofe, Rep. Jim Bridenstine and Sen. Tom Coburn.
Former Speaker of the Oklahoma House Charles McCall, 56, of Atoka, term-limited in 2024 was formerly a Democrat, but claims to have been a life-long Conservative. He served in the Oklahoma House as a Republican. He was the longest serving Speaker to serve in the Oklahoma House. He has been a moderate Republican earning only a 64 percent Conservative Index (100 being the most conservative) during his 2012 – 2024 tenure in the House as judged by the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper. He is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Ameri-State Bank.
Mike Mazzei, 60, of Tulsa is a former Oklahoma State Senator from Tulsa. He served in the Senate for 12 yeas from 2004 to 2016. He later served as Gov. Stitt’s Secretary of the Budget for two years. He has business experience as the founder and CEO of Trinity Strategic Wealth. He claims that because of his legislative experience, business leader, budget expertise, and Oklahoma values he is uniquely qualified to become governor.
Mazzei’s main issues are eliminating the property tax for seniors and veterans, education that works, government accountability, protecting Oklahoma land from foreign interests, and right to life.
Chip Keating, 46, of Oklahoma City is the son of former Gov. Frank Keating. He has worked in the oil and gas industry and started Keating Investments which is involved in the oil and gas industry. Early on he was a Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper for three years. In Gov. Stitt’s first term in office he was appointed to be the Secretary of Public Safety and worked in that position for two years. His only foray in politics was as a candidate for an Oklahoma House seat in 2006., but lost in the primary. He says “He is running for Governor to take on the threats facing Oklahoma families, crack down on crime, grow Oklahoma’s economy, and work with President Trump to make Oklahoma a leader in the America First agenda.”
Jake Merrick, 44, of Tuttle is a former State Senator. He served for about 2 years 2021-22 after he won a special election from a seat vacated by Stepanie Bice. He is a former pastor and graduated from Dallas Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He owns a small business and currently has a podcast “Jake for the State”. After his time as State Senator he is very invested in wanting to see reform in our political system. He vowed not to take any PAC money. His main priorities are government agency reform, education reform and land security.
Kenneth Leroy Sturgell, 63 of Goldsby has been a registered Republican for 40 years and is a small business owner in the HVAC industry. As a man of faith he would like to have the state government align with Biblical principles His top priorities are a biblical perspective to Oklahoma’s policy making, protect second ammendment rights, no mandatory vaccinations, reduce the tax burden seniors, remove waste from state government and is 100 percent against abortion.
Leisa Mitchell Haynes, 60 is a former small business owner, and has worked as a city manager in both Mangum and Tuttle. Haynes has also worked in the Oklahoma Main Street program at both city and in the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. When answering the Oklahoma State Republican party questionnaire for candidates she disagreed twice on Pro-Life issues on right to life and medical ethics issues. She believes that abortion is necessary at times. On her website it states, she is committed “to addressing crucial issues, she champions the restoration of neglected infrastructure, advocates for education reform to elevate the state’s ranking, and ensures the protection of vulnerable communities, including special needs adults and indigenous tribes.”
Jennifer Domenico, 62 , of Bartlesville is currently the manager at Bartlesville Shooting Supply. She has worked in a variety of positions in several states in the areas of contracts, banking, marketing and auditing. As governor she would like to improve our economy, education, healthcare, tourism and infrastructure. She would also like to audit the past eight years of government. She has degrees in accounting and finance from OSU.
Calup Anthony Taylor, 49, of Broken Bow wants to be the “Workman’s Governor” and says if elected, he’ll help Oklahomans without health insurance access care, aid children who can’t afford college, lower the cost of living and allocate more money to counties to fix local roadways. He thinks that once people are elected they forget the people they represent. He works as a boiler maker/millwright.
There are three Democrat candidates in the primary for governor. Cyndi Munson, Connie Johnson and Arya Azma. They all have been involved in the political process.
Munson, 41 of Oklahoma City is the current Democrat Minority Leader of the Oklahoma House. She has served her district since 2015 and is in her 4th full term, with also having been elected in a special election. She is a very liberal candidate with an 11 percent score on the Oklahoma Constitution’s Conservative Index.
Johnson, 74, of Forest Park is a former Oklahoma State Senator (2005 through 2015) and has run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate, and two other times for governor and another time for the Oklahoma State Senate.
Azma, 36, of Oklahoma City is a graduate of MIT and has worked in finance. His political experience wa in 2022 running for U.S. Senate.
Lieutenant Governor
The race for Lieutenant Governor fields seven Republican candidates and one Democrat – there will be no Democrat primary the lone Democrat will face the Republican candidate in the November general election.
T.W. Shannon, 48, of Oklahoma City is a former Speaker of the House in the Oklahoma legislature. He is deemed the most conservative Speaker of the House in modern times by the Oklahoma Constitution Conservative Index at 74 percent over his eight years in the Oklahoma House from 2006 to 2014. He was also the youngest Speaker of the House and the first African American and Chickasaw Speaker. He has supported President Donald Trump since 2015 and was the national Chair of black Voices for Trump in his 2020 bid for president. He is endorsed by President Trump for Lieutenant Governor. He is a former bank CEO, Oklahoma Transportation Commissioner and a Senior Advisor in Trump’s administration. On his website he says that he will grow our economy, work for lower taxes, support our farmers and defend our Christian values.
Oklahoma State Senator Darrell Weaver, 64, of Moore holds a BA in Accounting and an MBA. He worked for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics for 28 years in positions from Agent to Director. He was a graduate of the FBI academy and was inducted into Oklahoma Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2014. He was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2018 and still serves in that position. He has a 71 percent average for his tenure in the Senate from the Oklahoma Constitution Conservative Index. He says of his time in the Senate, “I have supported First Responders, public safety, victims’ rights, small businesses, and Second Amendment rights. I have also advocated for our growing aerospace industry, enhancing economic development opportunities and workforce development.”
Oklahoma State Rep. Brian Hill, 49 of Mustang has served in the House since being elected in 2018. Presently he is the chairman of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee which is a natural fit as he has started numerous businesses over the past 20 years and knowns how government regulations and red tape can strangle small businesses. He has a 70 percent Conservative value over the past eight years in office as judged by the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper. His vision for Oklahoma is to create economic opportunities, eliminate government bloat, support the Second Ammendment, secure the Border, Support Educators and students, stand up to Chinese land grabs and marijuana farms, unleash energy, protect women’s sports and defend religious freedom.
Oklahoma State Rep. Justin Humphrey, 59, of Lane was first elected in 2017 operates a cattle ranch and worked for the Department of Corrections for 20 years before retiring. He has a bachelors degree in criminal justice with a minor in business administration. His issues are holding government officials accountable, Department of Human Services reform, reform District Attorneys programs to block abuse, reform the Department of Corrections, get rid of the waste and fraud in the broadband expansion and infrastructure and end big agriculture monopolies to help keep small agricultural farms and ranches.
David Ostrowe, 57, of Oklahoma City was a U.S. Navy aviator and an Airline Transport pilot. He is also the President and CEO of O & M Restaurant Group which include Burger King, Taco Bell and Church’s Chicken franchises within several states.
In Gov. Stitt’s first term he served as Oklahoma’s Secretary of Digital Transformation and Administration – he was oversaw the modernization and streamlining of state services and was able to give transparency as well. He now works as the Chief Operating Officer for the State of Oklahoma. He previously also worked as the Chairman of the Oklahoma Lottery.
His top priorities if elected are to grow the economy, cut waste and abuse, fight for conservative values, and fix the state education system.
The last Republican candidate is Victory Flores, 48, of Edmond.
According to the Oklahoma Constitution, Flores “has previously worked as an administrator for the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and is currently a managing principal for REDW, an accounting firm serving tribes and tribal enterprises. He is the founder and President of the Oklahoma Tribal Finance Consortium.” Flores says he will fight for limited government, economic development in Oklahoma, the keeping of family values, keeping the American dream alive and protecting our Constitutional rights.