OKLAHOMA CITY – Come June 16, Oklahoma voters will return to the polls – and that trek could spark a great deal of change.
Voters will use the state’s primary election to narrow the list of candidates for every post from Governor to United States Representative. Voters will also face state questions that could have a dramatic impact on public policy.
The biggest state race of the year is the race for governor. Records show eight candidates are seeking for the post, including seven Republicans and one Democrat. So far, all the candidates have raised a combined total of close to $7 million.
The Republican include: Chip Keating. Keating, a former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper, Secretary of Public Safety, and businessman, has entered the 2026 governor’s race. According to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission Keating has raised $1,069,083. He has had not in-kind contributions or in-kind expenditures. His campaign does show a $2 million loan and expenditures and totaling $438,039 as of Jan. 30, 2026. Keating’s ending balance was $2,631,043.
Leisa Mitchell Haynes. Haynes, a small business owner and former city manager, said she is running on a platform of transforming the state through improved infrastructure, education reform, and the protection of vulnerable communities. Haynes reported $900 in financial contributions and $5,003 in in-kind contributions. She also reported $12,963 in inkind expenditures and $9,610 in expenditures and payments. As of Jan. 30, her campaign reported a negative balance of $8,710.
Former House Speaker Charles McCall. McCall touts his service in state government. He said he is running a legacy of leadership, civic involvement and dedication to conservative issues. McCall reported $1,487,946 in financial contributions and $318 in in-kind contributions. The campaign also reported $41,721 in in-kind expenditures and $2.601 million in loans. McCall’s campaign reported $1,627,615 in expenditures and payments and an ending balance of $2,461,330.
Former State Sen. Jake Merrick. Merrick announced his candidacy in May. He said he brings experience from his legislative service. Merrick’s campaign reported $18,737 in monetary contributions and $9,653 in in-kind contributions on Jan. 30. Merrick listed no in-kind expenditures or loans. He also listed $16,642 in expenditures and payments and an ending balance of $2,094.
Kenneth Sturgell. Sturgell, who recently announced, says he is a conservative Republican, running for the post for God, family and country. On Jan. 28, Sturgell reported $7,000 in contributions and no inkind contributions or inkind expenditures. Sturgell reported a $5,000 loan and expenditures and payments of $6,811 and an ending balance of $5,188.
Former State Sen. Mike Mazzei. Mazzei was elected to the Senate in 2004 after the GOP primary. He faced no opposition from Democratic or Independent candidates. Like others, Mazzei said his legislative experience has helped prepare him to be governor. Mazzei’s campaign reported $394,572 in monetary contributions along with $2,821 in inkind contributions. Mazzei also reported $864 in inkind expenditures and a loan of $3 million. Mazzei’s campaign listed $1096,676 in expenditures and payments and an ending balance of $2,297,896.
State Attorney General Gentner Drummond. Drummond is a seventhgeneration Oklahoman. He was elected attorney general in 2022. Drummond said his legal career spans over 30 years, including roles as an assistant district attorney in Pawnee and Osage counties and founding the Tulsabased Drummond Law Firm in 1999. Drummond’s campaign reported $3,893,578 in monetary contribution and $44,162 in in-kind contributions on Jan. 31. The campaign, on a Jan. 31, reported in-kind expenditures of $3,466 and payments and expenditures of $3,112,080. Drummond’s ending balance was listed at $781,498.
On the Democrat side, only one candidate has announced.
State Rep. Cyndi Munson. Munson, who currently serves as Minority Leader in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, has announced her run for governor in 2026. Munson was rst elected to office in Nov. 2014. Munson reported $533,749 in monetary contributions with no inkind contributions, in-kind expenditures or loans. Munson’s campaign reported $448,966 in expenditures and payments with an ending balance of $84,783.
And this year, experts say, those campaigns could be intense.
With the primary election about ve months away, one political expert believes the June election will have the most impact for the state this year.
Oklahoma City-based campaign consultant Pat McFerron – a nationally recognized pollster – said the primary election will determine a great deal about what happens this fall and gives voters a pretty solid picture of who will be in office.
“In Oklahoma,” McFerron said, “the primary election is the big election.”
Though McFerron believes Republicans will again run the show on the state level, he said the biggest election ghts will be the primary election in June – not the general election in November.
“November doesn’t matter in Oklahoma,” he said. “Because of that, Trump’s change on a national stage doesn’t really matter much in Oklahoma, either. His numbers are baked here. They’re not going to change within that Republican primary electorate, especially so I would say it’s largely set.”
The question, McFerron said, is which Republican seeking a statewide office,, such as those running for governor, will prevail. He said he doubts Democrats will have much of say about the nal outcome.
“We’re talking about having to appeal to a rather small number of voters,” he said.
“And it’s about motivating your people to get out to vote. It’s not about building coalitions. I think when Ryan Walters chose not to run for governor, I think that any Democrat path to success in the governor’s race ended.”
Things are di rent though, he said, on the national level. There, McFerron said, Republicans face a much tougher ght.
“I look at the generic ballot for Congress and I think if it were today, it’s a very tough eld for Republicans on the House side,” he said. “But if the economic things that people think will happen because of the Big Beautiful Bill kick in before, before November then we’ll see. I think that’s the that’s the hope Republicans have.”
For state voters, McFerron said, the important decisions will be made in June and August. On the national level, he said the important votes will be made in November.
McFerron said he was also concerned about voter turnout. He said he didn’t see the petition to increase the minimum wage – set for a vote this summer – bringing people to the polls like the question about medical marijuana.
“I don’t see minimum wage a cting turnout the way medical marijuana did,” he said. Still, other issues, such as taxes and property insurance could move more voters to act. “Taxes and property insurance – those are pocketbook issues that Oklahomans are looking at,” he said.
Former Senate Pro Tempore Cal Hobson, a Democrat from Lexington, agreed. Hobson said state voters, dealing with an economy that goes back and forth, tax issues and higher insurance costs will be paying attention.
And while Hobson, like Mc-Ferron, said Republicans will continue to have a big impact in state elections, he expects the U.S. House of Representatives to move from GOP to Democrat control.
“The president’s approval rating is low. That, and his gooness about Greenland and all this other stu could cause a blue wave,” Hobson said. “And if there’s a blue wave that could put two races in play in Oklahoma, one race for sure, maybe two.”
On the national level, Hobson said Democrats will take the U.S. House for multiple reasons: candidate recruitment and the whole chain of victories going on for months now.
“I can’t think of a Republican victory,” he said “Maybe there is one somewhere in the country. They they’ve lost county commissioner races, they’ve lost courthouse races, they’ve lost judicial races. They lost in Virginia and New Jersey. I don’t think there’s a very good picture for November and it’s almost February, so the clock is ticking.”
While both McFerron and Hobson declined to predict who would capture the GOP nomination for governor, both men did acknowledge several skilled politicians are running for the post.
Oklahoma’s primary election is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16. Early voting is set for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 11 and 12 and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 13.
A primary runo 5election – if needed – is set for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Early voting is set for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 20 and 21 and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 22.
The general election is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Early voting is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 28 through 30 and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 31.
Voters who have questions about their registration should contact the State Election Board at (405) 521-2391.