OKLAHOMA CITY – Former House Speaker T.W. Shannon – who also served in the Trump administration – has emerged as the frontrunner in the 2026 race for lieutenant governor, a new poll shows.
Like the race for governor, the field is heavy for the campaign.
Currently, several candidates are seeking the Republican nomination including Shannon, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd, Sen. Darrell Weaver, Rep. J.J. Humphrey and political newcomers Brian Hill and Victor Flores. Chris White’s candidacy was listed as terminated.
Kelly Forbes and Candice Jay are the two candidates in the Democratic primary.
According to the Sooner Survey — a polling report published by nationally known pollster Pat McFerron — Shannon’s background pushed him to the lead in the race.
“In our continuing release of Republican primary voting numbers, we have new entrant T.W. Shannon shooting to the forefront, capturing 39%, the survey report said. “He leads State Auditor Cindy Byrd by 16 points. More than a quarter of voters remain undecided (27%) while the three incumbent legislators running for the office are in the single digits.”
McFerron said Shannon’s lead was based on two factors: first, he is much better known than Byrd, and second, he has secured a solid bloc among the more conservative and active elements of the primary electorate.
“After his time as speaker, two statewide campaigns, and work in the Trump administration, Shannon starts with a very high name identification of 68%,” McFerron wrote.
Though Oklahoma’s candidates for governor and lieutenant governor don’t run as a team, the secondin- command post continues to draw both legislative and political leaders. Campaign filings from January show that $760,147 has been raised for the race. Shannon’s late entry in the race doesn’t show any funds raised or spent.
Other filings, though, show Byrd raised $266,980 so far, spent $3,276 on loans and loan forgiveness and another $103,336 in expenditures. As of the end of January, Byrd had $167,416 on hand.
Weaver’s reported contributions of$412,243. Weaver also reported $12,860 in in-kind contributions, $18,406 in loans and loan forgiveness and $74,493 in expenditures. Weaver reported $356,156 on hand.
Hill reported raising $35,085 and spending $24,740 in the race. Hill reported $11,065 on hand. At the same time, Flores reported $8,360 in contributions and $3,840 in expenditures. Hill said he had $4,519 in cash on hand.
Humphrey reported $8,000 in contribution with no expenditures. Humphrey said he had the full amount in cash on hand.
Of the Democrats, Jay reported $96 in contributions and expenditures of $225. Jay reported a negative balance of $114. And Forbes reported raising $26,039 and spending $25,217. Forbes reported $821 in cash on hand.
The Sooner Survey said Shannon’s candidacy was popular among several GOP groups. “On the ballot test, we see Shannon dominating among key groups like very conservative voters (47% Shannon; 17% Byrd; 26% Undecided), Trump Republicans (49% Shannon; 12% Byrd), the most active FOX News viewers (51% Shannon; 9% Byrd) and those who have a favorable impression of the president (44% Shannon; 17% Byrd),” the survey said.
McFerron reported that Bryd does lead among moderates (43% Byrd; 28% Shannon) and the 18% of Republicans who dislike Trump (52% Byrd; 21% Shannon. But that mixture, McFerron said “is simply not a winning coalition in an Oklahoma Republican primary.”
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 runoff election – 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.