Oklahoma residents sold out a recent GOP fundraiser to hear gubernatorial candidates and several lieutenant governor candidates speak about the upcoming 2026 election.
The 16th annual Beans & Baskets, hosted by the Southwest Oklahoma Republican Women, was held July 26 in Altus. Despite the scorching heat, at least 250 people packed the Altus Community Center where they kept candidates busy shaking hands and making promises.
Former Speaker of the House Charles McCall was the sole gubernatorial candidate at the event. Gubernatorial candidates Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Leisa Mitchell Haynes and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei were unable to attend, though Mazzei appeared by video. Former state Sen. Jake Merrick and businessowner Kenneth Sturgell, who recently filed their candidacies for governor, were not present.
Lieutenant gubernatorial candidates state Sen. Darrel Weaver, State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd and businessowner Victor Flores spoke at the event. Candidate for lieutenant governor, state Rep. Justin “J.J.” Humphrey, who recently filed for the office, was not present.
Deb Davis, president of SWOKRW, said the speakers drew the crowd and the event netted more than $7,000.
“Everyone really enjoyed all of the candidates, getting to visit one on one with candidates and also hearing them speak,” Davis said.
McCall, Mazzei McCall wasted no time pointing out the absence of his opponents in a joke that was met with widespread laughter from the crowd.
“Do I get the other candidates’ time that didn’t show up here tonight?,” he asked.
Laughter aside, McCall said his professional background in community banking, as a lawmaker and House leader make him the right choice.
“I consider myself just an everyday Joe, an everyday guy from rural Oklahoma,” said the Atoka resident. “I think we live in the best state and the greatest country in the world ... I’m glad Donald J. Trump is President of the United States.”
McCall reminded listeners of important bills the Legislature adopted for conservative voters, including a ban on sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants, sex reassignment surgery for transgender minors and abolishment of critical race theory and mask mandates in schools.
He also emphasized his work to cut grocery, income and franchise taxes as well as eliminating the marriage penalty in the tax code.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we still have a lot to fight for,” McCall said. “As governor, I’m going to protect your freedom and liberty. I’m going to protect our families.”
Though gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei did not attend, he appeared in a short video addressing the audience, promising to address education outcomes because “only 20% of our kids can read proficiently” and mitigate fiscal issues by starting a government transparency office.
He also said he would stop “Chinese communists” from owning Oklahoma land for marijuana operations by “rescinding land sales.”
Mazzei, from Tulsa served from 2004-2016 in the state Senate, and, more recently as Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Secretary of Budget. Mazzei also said he supported a zero income tax and would work to support Oklahoma businesses “instead of sending hundreds of millions of dollars out of state or out of the country.”
Byrd, Weaver and Flores Candidates for lieutenant governor also promised voters they would fix important issues facing the state.
Byrd, who is from Coalgate and has served as the state auditor and inspector since 2018, said her experience has inspired her to improve fiscal practices at the local and state level.
“When I was down in Wilburton, Oklahoma, 28 years ago auditing property taxes, I saw in real time, ranchers, the elderly, single moms coming in to pay their taxes,” Byrd recalled. “It made me very passionate about auditing, knowing that what was taken from our citizens had to be kept to a minimum and every dime accounted for.”
Of every tax dollar, 80% is spent on healthcare and education, Byrd said — both sectors where she and her team uncovered fiscal mismanagement and both for which Oklahoma ranks at the bottom of the nation for outcomes.
Byrd said it’s not the amount of money that is the issue, but how it’s spent.
“I believe the reason Oklahoma is not succeeding is because of poor money management,” she said. “Poor money management can be fixed and we can turn this state around.”
She promised to make sure tax dollars made it to the classroom and only truly qualified residents would be enrolled in healthcare benefits.
Byrd also took aim at improving transparency and fiscal prudence in the bidding process.
“What if we lived in a state where government contracts were only awarded to vetted companies through a competitive bidding process for a quality product?” she asked.
Moore Sen. Darrell Weaver said his experience in the Legislature, in law enforcement and as the owner of Weaver Clinics have prepared him to serve as the next lieutenant governor.
Weaver, a Comanche High School graduate with family nearby in Stephens County, said when he and his wife expanded their clinics in small towns, it exposed issues facing rural Oklahoma, especially the need for a skilled workforce.
“We can’t lose rural Oklahoma, and you do that by creating jobs,” he said.
Creating jobs and a skilled workforce also mean education must be a priority.
“We’ve got to maintain public schools in these areas,” he said.
Weaver also promised aerospace, “the second leading industry behind oil and gas,” and tourism would be a key area of economic development in his role if elected.
A new face surfaced among the crowded GOP race for lieutenant governor. Victor Flores, a certified public accountant, said he would use his experience working with tribes, nonprofit organizations and as a CPA and business owner to promote better outcomes for the state.
“I believe our future is bright, especially when we invest in what makes us great: our small businesses and our rural communities,” Flores said.
The candidate said while he is not a politician, he owns several small businesses and is a community leader. Flores serves as president of the Oklahoma Tribal Finance Consortium, an organization that collaborates on economic development through partnerships with tribes in the state.
Funds raised by the annual Beans & Baskets event support GOP candidates who have drawn an opponent, otherwise the money goes to local causes and nonprofit organizations, Davis said.