Oklahoma voters cast ballots Tuesday in primary elections featuring open contests for both U.S. Senate and governor, giving President Donald Trump another opportunity to demonstrate his influence as a party kingmaker ahead of November’s midterm elections.
In the Senate race, Trump’s early endorsement of Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern — who is seeking the seat formerly held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin — helped discourage other high-profile candidates from entering the race. Oklahoma has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1990.
A potentially bigger challenge to Trump’s clout may emerge in the wide-open race to replace outgoing Gov. Kevin Stitt. Trump endorsed former state Sen. Mike Mazzei last month, stepping into a primary that was already crowded with well-known Oklahoma Republicans, including Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, and Chip Keating, who previously served as the state’s public safety director.
With so many candidates in the field, political observers say an August runoff is likely unless one contender manages to capture more than half of all votes cast.
The two open seats created a political scramble in this solidly Republican state. Mullin departed the Senate to join Trump’s cabinet, taking over at the Department of Homeland Security to replace Kristi Noem, whom the president dismissed in March amid growing criticism of her leadership at that agency. Republican Alan Armstrong, an energy executive, was appointed to temporarily fill Mullin’s Senate seat, though state law bars him from running for a full term as an interim appointee.
Stitt, who has served as governor since 2019, is prohibited from seeking another term due to term limits — and Trump has made little secret of his desire to see Stitt move on. Earlier this year, while Stitt was leading the National Governors Association, a dispute arose over White House event invitations at the group’s annual meeting. The conflict prompted Trump to publicly attack Stitt on social media, labeling him a “RINO” — short for Republican in Name Only.
