OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma voters will trek back to the polls in August to finalize their party choices for 11 legislative seats, four state offices, two United States senators and a seat in Congress.
Statewide, voters will pick a Republican candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, corporation commission, labor commissioner and state treasurer in the Aug. 23 Primary Runoff election.
In addition, Democrats will use the August election to select a challenger for incumbent U.S. Senator James Lankford; Republicans will choose a nominee for the contest in the 2nd Congressional District.
Along with those races, voters still have to narrow down the field in 11 seats in the state Legislature.
Unofficial election returns show that turnout for the June 28 primary election was moderate at 527,306. Of that figure, 56,922 voters either voted by mail or by using absentee in-person voting before the Tuesday election date.
Yet even with the low to moderate turnout, the leader of the Republican-controlled Oklahoma House of Representatives called Tuesday’s primary an outstanding success.
“House Republicans are fully on track for another strong supermajority comprised of experienced and new leaders to advance constituents’ conservative priorities. Oklahomans were not deceived by dishonest special interests running dirty D.C. campaigns with D.C. money in Oklahoma House districts,” House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) stated. “Oklahomans elected leaders to represent their interests, not special interests, and continue the historic progress House Republicans have made since attaining our House majority."
McCall said 58 House Republicans were elected, either by primary victories or going unchallenged with three members of the House have decisive runoff elections – where they face no challenger in November – and four more Republicans in August runoffs and facing a November general election.
Nine members of the House Democratic caucus were elected unchallenged in June, he said.
Tuesday’s election also drew praise for other state leaders, including the Oklahoma State Medical Association. In a message posted on Twitter, the organization applauded the results of the primary.
“Common sense candidates either won outright or moved on to a runoff tonight,” the organization’s message said. “We are thrilled with tonight’s results, and we look forward to supporting pro-science candidates in August and November.”
Tuesday’s primary saw Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt easily beat back his primary challengers by capturing 69.06% of the vote, or 248,355 of the 349,632 votes cast in the Republican primary.
Speaking at a watch party on election night, Stitt said people all over the country were noticing the differences between red and blue states. “There have bever been bigger differences,” he said. “Friends, let’s keep Oklahoma red.”
Stitt has been a harsh critic of the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling and of Oklahoma’s tribal nations. Stitt’s huge primary election win drew a terse response from the leader of the state’s largest Native American tribe, the Cherokee Nation.
“Of course, the most high-profile opponent of tribal sovereignty, Governor Kevin Stitt faced only token opposition so far,” Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “Cherokee voters should remain engaged and focused for the upcoming Oklahoma primary runoff races on August 23, and, of course, the general election on November 8.”
Hoskin said there was much to analyze about the Oklahoma primary results. “It also appears that in the most contested races of the day, candidates who framed Cherokee sovereignty as a ‘threat’ performed poorly. Candidates who stand with the tribes are prevailing,” he said.
With most of the attention on the contests for Oklahoma’s two U.S. Senate races, a fight over who will be the GOP nominee for state superintendent of public instruction has quickly become the highest profile state level race in the primary.
Shawnee Superintendent April Grace’s 30% showing helped push Ryan Walters, Stitt’s Education Secretary, into a runoff. Last Tuesday, Walters got 142,540 votes, about 41%. The pair will fight for the remaining 27% of the Republican vote which was divided among candidates John Cox and William Crozier.
With the August primary only two months away, political hopefuls have little time to generate interest in their campaign. The general election is set for Nov. 8.