The Political Seat Shuffle is underway in Oklahoma.
What began as a presidential appointment still ripples through the Sooner State’s political landscape, driving dramatic change.
Not long ago, President Trump announced that he had fired Kristi Noem as the head of the Department of Homeland Security. A short time later, Trump named Oklahoma’s newest U.S. Senator, Markwayne Mullin, to replace Noem.
Mullin accepted the post and is expected to start at the end of the month. Mullin will appear in front of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on March 18 for his confirmation hearing.
Trump’s announcement set off a wave of changes in Oklahoma’s political landscape—changes that still reverberate today.
Last week, Oklahoma Congressman Kevin Hern, a Republican who serves in the Tulsa congressional district, announced he would give up his congressional seat and run for Mullin’s Senate post.
Hern’s announcement, in turn, led to a new political question: who will run for his now-vacant congressional seat?
Like the fallout from Mullin’s departure, Kern’s announcement also has drawn its share of candidates. So far, at least two Democrats and four Republicans have expressed interest in running for the seat.
On the Democratic side, John Croisant, a Tulsa School Board member, and attorney Erica Watkins have both expressed their intent to file for the seat.
The Republican side has drawn even more, including state Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready, state Rep. Mark Tedford, from Tulsa, Corporation Commissioner Kim David, who also served in the state Legislature and calls Porter home, and Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado. Meanwhile, as these races form, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is working to name an interim U.S. Senator—the seat is up for election this fall.
Since then, several different issues have surfaced. The first two: who will Stitt choose for the post? Who will run for the Senate’s full six-year term? Those answers remain unclear – for now.
However, the state’s filing period opens at the beginning of April and then, the state’s 2026 election game – the Political Seat Shuffle – begins in earnest.
M. Scott Carter is an award-winning political and investigative reporter with more than 40 years’ experience covering federal and state government and politics in Oklahoma. He can be reached at scott.carter@swoknews.com.