Mike Mazzei has advanced to a runoff in Oklahoma’s GOP gubernatorial primary while carrying President Donald Trump’s endorsement in a crowded field.
Mazzei is a former state senator who didn’t receive Trump’s endorsement until the final weeks of a race that included several prominent Oklahoma Republicans. He'll face Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who also advanced to the runoff in August.
The eventual GOP nominee will be a heavy favorite to succeed
outgoing Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who cannot run again because of term limits.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has advanced to a primary runoff for governor in a crowded GOP race to succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Drummond has served as Oklahoma’s top law enforcement official since 2023 and has loaned his campaign millions of dollars in a bid to become the state’s first new governor in eight years.
The eventual GOP nominee will be a heavy favorite in deep-red Oklahoma to succeed Stitt, who cannot run again because of term limits.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern easily won Oklahoma's GOP nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday in another show of President Donald Trump's status as Republican Party kingmaker.
With Trump's early backing, the four-term congressman is seeking the Senate seat once held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Trump's endorsement kept Hern's most serious potential rivals out of the primary, arriving even before Mullin was confirmed as a replacement for fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Hern won more than 50% of the vote in a five-person field to avoid an Aug. 25 runoff. He is favored to win the seat in November because Democrats haven’t won a U.S. Senate race in Oklahoma since 1990.
A bigger test of Trump’s influence — which has usually proved potent in Republican primaries this year — may come in a crowded race to succeed outgoing Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Trump endorsed former state Sen. Mike Mazzei last month, wading late into a primary that includes several prominent Oklahoma Republicans. They include Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall and Chip Keating, the state’s former public safety director.
The top four candidates relied heavily on their own funds, contributing $22.5 million, almost 72% of their combined fundraising of more than $31 million, according to campaign finance reports.
It has raised the likelihood of an August runoff if no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote. Oklahoma House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson won the Democratic nomination Tuesday.
In a solidly Republican state, the open races for two of Oklahoma’s biggest offices set off a political scramble.
Mullin left the Senate to join Trump’s cabinet and replace Kristi Noem, whom the president fired in March over mounting criticism over her leadership at the Department of Homeland Security. Republican Alan Armstrong, an energy executive, is filling the Oklahoma Senate seat for now, but state law prohibits him from seeking a full term as an interim appointee.
Stitt, who been governor since 2019, cannot run again because of term limits — and Trump has seemed eager for him to go.
As head of the National Governors Association, Stitt drew Trump’s ire earlier this year over a dispute over invitations to White House events at the group’s annual meeting. The fallout led to Trump attacking Stitt on social media as a “RINO,” meaning Republican in Name Only.
