Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
It’s a rainy Friday night as I sit down to write this column, and what better way to end a busy week than combing over the Oklahoma State Election Boards final copy of who is running for statewide offices and those Oklahoma legislature districts up for election.
Friday, April 3 was the deadline of the three-day period to officially file to run for public office. There were several statewide races that had some unexpected filings and it looks like we are going to have quite a few new faces in the state legislature.
We could spend all day breaking down all the state House and Senate races, but today I want to talk about the federal races and some of those statewide races.
On the federal side, all five of Oklahoma’s congressional seats are up and one of our U.S. Senate seats is up in 2026. Regarding the U.S. Senate seat, a couple of weeks ago nobody really talked about it as it was a given Sen. Markwayne Mullin would run and cruise to another six years. We all know a couple of weeks ago, President Trump selected Mullin to be the next secretary of Homeland Security. Mullin has since been confirmed by the Senate.
With Mullin’s departure, it left his seat open for the 2026 election. Almost immediately, rumors circulated as to who would run and who wouldn’t. It didn’t take long for our U.S. representative in the 1st District, Kevin Hern, to let people know he would be leaving the House to run for the Senate.
It will leave an open seat in Congressional District 1. We have heard of several people planning on running, but I was a little surprised as to how many actually filed for that seat.
Below are the candidates who have officially filed for federal elections and our statewide seats.
U.S. Senator
Republican
Kevin Hern
Sean Buckner
Brian Ragain
Nick Hankins
Gary Ty England
Democratic
Troy Green
Jim Priest
R.O. Joe Cassity Jr.
N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas
Ervin Stone Yen
Independent
Curtis Stinnett
Ron Meinhardt
Libertarian
Sevier White
Congressional District 1
Republican
Kelly Walsh
Kim David
Jed Cochran
Mark Tedford
Dan Rooney
Courtney Gill
Nathan Butterfield
Jackson Lahmeyer
Nancy Dyson
Ronald Edward Durbin II
Todd Woods
Paul Royse
Democratic
John Croisant
Congressional District 2
Republican
Josh Brecheen – incumbent
Will Webb
Democratic
Erik Terwey
Brandon Wade
Independent
Ronnie Hopkins
Congressional District 3
Republican
Frank Lucas – incumbent
Wade Burleson
Democratic
Jules Roberson
Suzie Byrd
Congressional District 4
Republican
Tom Cole – incumbent
Marcie Everhart
Democratic
Jeff Pixley
Mitchell Jacob
Independent
Rocco Bonacci
Congressional District 5
Republican
Stephanie Bice – incumbent
Democratic
Jena Nelson
Trey Martin
Independent
Robert Henri
Austin Nieves
Below are the statewide races and the folks who have filed.
Governor
Republican
Charles McCall III
Mike Mazzei
Leisa Mitchell Haynes
Gentner Drummond
Kenneth Sturgell
Jennifer Domenico
Chip Keating
Calup Anthony Taylor
Jake Merrick
Democratic
Cyndi Munson
Arya Azma
Connie Johnson
Independent
Jerry Griffin
Robert Brooks Sr.
Orlando Lynn Bush
Lieutenant Governor
Republican
Darrell Weaver
H. Victor Flores
T.W. Shannon
Justin “JJ” Humphrey
Brian Hill
David Ostrowe
Democratic
Kelly Forbes
State Auditor and Inspector
Republican
Melissa Capps – elected at filing
Attorney General
Republican
Jon Echols
Jeff Starling
Democratic
Nick Coffey
State Treasurer
Republican
Todd Russ
Cindy Byrd
Libertarian
Kiefer Perry
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Republican
Toni Hasenbeck
John Cox
Robert Franklin
Adam Pugh
Debra Herlihy
James Taylor
William Crozier
Democratic
Craig McVay
Jennettie Marshall
Commissioner of Labor
Republican
Kevin West
Lisa Janloo
John Pfeiffer
Keith Swinton
Democratic
Kevin Dawson
Insurance Commissioner
Republican
Marty Quinn
Bob Sullivan
Greta Shuler
Chris Merideth
Democratic
Craig MacIntyre
Corporation Commissioner
Republican
Justin Hornback
Brad Boles
Democratic
Harold Spradling
Rhonda Eastman
Donald Anthony Clytus
While filing has been exciting, we are still in the middle of the legislative session and there is a lot going on. As you know, the only thing the legislature is required to do is pass a budget. We usually start to hear rumors about a budget deal in the last week of April, but this isn’t a normal year.
The Senate, House and governor announced they all had a budget agreement on April 1. This is incredibly early, and it means there is a reasonably good chance the session will adjourn several weeks early.
It’s a little weird to say, but I may have a session wrap-up for you next month.