A surge of open seats is drawing Oklahoma voters to the polls Tuesday for a state primary election shaped by term limits, retirements, ambitions for higher office, and a high-profile cabinet appointment made by President Donald Trump.
Oklahomans will choose nominees to fill vacancies left by departing officials at both the federal and state levels — including seats for U.S. senator, U.S. representative, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and various state legislative positions. Voters will also weigh in on whether some current officeholders deserve another term, and they’ll decide the fate of a statewide ballot measure on the minimum wage.
One of the most closely watched contests is the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. Nine Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination, among them state Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former state Secretary of Public Safety Chip Keating — the son of former Gov. Frank Keating — former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, and former state House Speaker Charles McCall.
On the Democratic side, state House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson and former state Sen. Connie Johnson are competing for their party’s gubernatorial nomination.
Another major opening came when President Trump tapped Republican U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin to serve as Department of Homeland Security secretary, replacing fellow Republican Kristi Noem in that role. Mullin’s appointed successor, U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong, chose not to run for a full term of his own.
The Republican primary to fill that Senate seat includes U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern along with four other candidates. Five Democrats are also seeking their party’s nomination, including attorney and minister Jim Priest. Hern and Priest are the fundraising leaders in their respective fields — though the gap is vast. As of May 27, the Hern campaign had $6.8 million in available cash, while the Priest campaign had just $118,000.
President Trump has thrown his support behind Mazzei in the governor’s race and Hern in the U.S. Senate contest.
To secure a party nomination outright, a candidate must earn more than half of all votes cast in the primary. If no one clears that threshold, the top two finishers will face each other in an Aug. 25 runoff election.
Also before voters Tuesday is State Question 832, a ballot measure that would increase Oklahoma’s minimum wage from its current $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour by 2029. Beginning in 2030, future wage increases would be tied to changes in the cost of living.
Oklahoma leans heavily Republican in general elections. The state gave Trump his fifth-highest vote share of any state in the 2024 presidential race. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Oklahoma since President Lyndon Johnson did so in 1964. The state last sent a Democrat to the governor’s office in 2006 and last elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 1990.
Polls close at 7 p.m. Central Time, or 8 p.m. Eastern Time. As of May 31, Oklahoma had approximately 2.4 million registered voters — about 1.3 million Republicans, 614,000 Democrats, and 495,000 independents with no party affiliation.
Registered party members may only vote in their own party’s primary. Neither state party has opted to allow independent voters to participate in the 2026 primaries, though all registered voters may cast a ballot on the statewide minimum wage question.
About 35,000 ballots had already been submitted as of Friday, including roughly 21,000 from Republicans, 12,000 from Democrats, and 2,000 from unaffiliated voters.
In the 2022 state primary, results began coming in at 8:10 p.m. Eastern Time — just ten minutes after polls closed — and more than 90% of votes had been counted by 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Oklahoma does not hold automatic recounts in candidate races, though any candidate may request and pay for one regardless of the margin. Automatic recounts are required for statewide ballot questions when the margin falls at or below 0.5% of total votes cast. If a runoff is needed, it will be held Aug. 25, with the general midterm election following on Nov. 3.
