The field of candidates for state’s lieutenant governor’s post became more crowded Wednesday evening when former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon announced he was running for the office.
Shannon, a native of Lawton, made the announcement at the Lawton Constitution’s office.
A former member of the Trump administration, Shannon said he would run on a platform that promotes the state and pushes conservative values, tax cuts, and economic growth.
“Right after the T.W.
inauguration, I got a call to go serve in the Trump administration to fight every single day for the America First agenda,” he said. “But now happy to come home. I can get emotional about it, even right now, just it does something to you. Coming home, there’s nothing like it.”
Shannon said the lieutenant governor has the ability to shape the state’s direction and influence policy and leverage the position to drive the state’s economic development efforts.
“From a perch like Lieutenant Governor, you have an opportunity to, yes, reel in the Senate sometimes, but also to set a platform of what due north is,” he said.
He said he would focus on cutting taxes, reducing government size and making Oklahoma more attractive to businesses leaving hightax states. He also called for reducing spending, saying the state needed to rein in spending, because allowing people to keep more of their money is a way to grow the economy.
“The reason I came home is because I believe Oklahoma can be even greater,” he said. “And, you know, I think about a lot about, how do we do that? How do you start to make a place that’s, a really good place to live and we’ve got a lot of great things about it. How do you make it even greater? Well, the first thing is, you get active. You get involved. And that’s why I’m running for lieutenant governor.”
In 2006, Shannon was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Seven years later, he became the first African American Speaker of the House of Representatives. Shannon has also worked as a field representative for then Congressman J.C. Watts and Congressman Tom Cole and served as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Chickasaw Nation.
Shannon holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Cameron University and a Juris Doctorate from Oklahoma City University Law School.
He said he recognizes the importance of the Lieutenant Governor’s post.
“The real function of a lieutenant governor, the number one duty of a lieutenant governor is to make sure if something happens that the governor cannot or will not serve, you can serve from day one. And I think I have a record that proves that we can do that.”
Shannon said he plans to campaign statewide in the coming months as the 2026 election approaches.
While Shannon is the latest to announce for the post, several Republicans have already announced including State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd, state Rep. J.J. Humphrey, Victor Flores, Rep. Brian Hill, and Sen. Darrell Weaver.
Democrat candidates for the post include Kelly Forbes and Candace Jay.