Republican Mike Mazzei expanded his advantage in the race for Oklahoma governor late Tuesday night, anchoring a sweeping Republican performance across every statewide executive office on the ballot as returns reached 98% of precincts reporting.
Introduced by outgoing Governor Kevin Stitt as Oklahoma’s 29th governor, Mike Mazzei addressed supporters at his election night watch party after an eventful evening marked by a false fire alarm and vote-reporting delays in Cleveland and Comanche counties. Mazzei expressed gratitude to his family, campaign team, volunteers, and the Stitt administration, and offered congratulations to fellow Republican candidates on their victories. He also shared his personal journey of overcoming tragedy through faith, recounting his recovery from a severe 2008 car accident that required 50 medical procedures over five years, citing Galatians 6:9 as a guiding message to never give up.
Outlining his administration’s core policy priorities, Mazzei pledged to recruit a statewide literacy director modeled after Mississippi’s reading turnaround, eliminate Oklahoma’s state personal income tax, abolish property taxes for senior citizens and military veterans, and crack down on foreign illicit funds and Mexican drug cartels to enhance public safety. Before concluding, he returned to the microphone to announce breaking news that final Cleveland County tallies had officially arrived, confirming that Democratic opponent Cyndi Munson had conceded and called to congratulate him on his gubernatorial victory.
With 98% of precincts counted statewide, Mazzei held 568,931 votes (51.98%), establishing a lead of nearly 67,000 votes over Democratic nominee Cyndi Munson, who stood at 502,046 votes (45.87%). A trio of independent candidates—Robert Brooks Sr. (11,405 votes, 1.04%), Jerry Griffin (7,298 votes, 0.67%), and Orlando Lynn Bush (4,852 votes, 0.44%)—split the remaining 2% of the vote, leaving Munson with virtually no mathematical path to erase the deficit with just 2% of precincts outstanding.
Byrd Delivers Historic Blowout in Treasurer’s Race
The evening’s widest margin of victory belonged to Republican Cindy Byrd in the race for State Treasurer. Byrd secured 764,276 votes (75.54%) against Libertarian challenger Kiefer Perry (247,536 votes, 24.46%), winning by more than 516,000 votes and surpassing a three-to-one margin. Her 75.5% share stood as the highest percentage and largest raw vote total of any candidate on the statewide ballot.
Republican nominees maintained decisive margins across the rest of the executive slate:
- Lieutenant Governor: Republican T.W. Shannon earned 631,975 votes (57.84%), leading Democrat Kelly Forbes at 460,609 votes (42.16%).
- Attorney General: Republican Jon Echols captured 603,700 votes (55.38%) over Democrat Nick Coffey’s 486,345 votes (44.62%).
- Superintendent of Public Instruction: Republican Robert Franklin held a commanding lead with 717,318 votes (66.21%) against Democrat Jennettie Marshall’s 366,095 votes (33.79%).
- Commissioner of Labor: Republican Kevin West paced the three-way race with 607,066 votes (55.97%), leading Democrat Kevin Dawson (425,494 votes, 39.23%) and Libertarian Mike Hall (52,083 votes, 4.80%).
- Insurance Commissioner: Republican Bob Sullivan drew 641,610 votes (59.17%) over Democrat Craig MacIntyre’s 442,669 votes (40.83%).
- Corporation Commissioner: Republican Brad Boles secured 633,091 votes (58.51%), outpacing Democrat Rhonda Eastman’s 448,973 votes (41.49%).
Voters Reject State Questions 845 and 847
While the Republican slate dominated candidate races, voters expressed strong opposition to proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot:
- State Question 845 (Judicial Nominating Commission Changes): The proposal to overhaul Oklahoma’s Judicial Nominating Commission went down in a lopsided defeat, with “No” votes leading at 709,384 (72.54%) to 268,494 “Yes” votes (27.46%) at 93% reporting.
- State Question 847 (Property Tax Increase Limits): A measure seeking to reduce annual statutory caps on property tax valuation increases failed, with “No” outpacing “Yes” 533,733 (54.20%) to 450,958 (45.80%) at 93% reporting.
Voters Reject State Questions 845 and 847
While Republicans enjoyed broad support in candidate races, voters showed strong skepticism toward proposed constitutional changes, rejecting both measures on the ballot:
- State Question 845 (Judicial Nominating Commission Changes): The proposed amendment to overhaul the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission faced overwhelming opposition. “No” votes led by a wide margin with 709,384 votes (72.54%) compared to 268,494 “Yes” votes (27.46%).
- State Question 847 (Property Tax Increase Limits): A proposal designed to lower the annual caps on property valuation increases also trailed. “No” votes totaled 533,733 (54.20%), outpacing 450,958 “Yes” votes (45.80%).
Oklahoma County Voters Reject 0.40% Jail Sales Tax
At the local level, Oklahoma County voters decisively turned down a 25-year, 0.40% countywide sales tax intended to finance the construction, staffing, and operations of a new detention center and behavioral health facilities.
With 100% of precincts reporting, the measure failed by a wide double-digit margin:
- No: 139,181 votes (62.32%)
- Yes: 84,143 votes (37.68%)
Because the original $260 million could not cover the rest of the housing units and long-term operational costs, county commissioners put the 0.40% countywide sales tax on the ballot to raise hundreds of millions more to bridge the shortfall and avoid raising ad valorem property taxes.
Voters rejected that tax proposal by a 62% to 38% margin, sending the project back to the drawing board and forcing the Board of County Commissioners and the Jail Trust to figure out how to finish or scale down the facility using only existing bond proceeds and reserve funds.
Oklahoma County Rejects Jail Sales Tax
At the local level, Oklahoma County voters decisively turned down a proposed 25-year, 0.40% sales tax to fund a new detention center.
With 100% of precincts reporting, the measure failed by nearly 25 percentage points:
- No: 139,181 votes (62.32%)
- Yes: 84,143 votes (37.68%)
Voters pushed back against providing a second revenue stream for the project after already approving $260 million in bonds in 2022. That initial funding was largely consumed by land acquisition, site planning, infrastructure, and inflation as total costs climbed past $800 million. The defeat leaves county commissioners and the Jail Trust back at square one, forced to scale back construction plans to fit within existing bond revenues.
(story written at 10:30 pm on 11/3/26 and may be updates as 100% of the votes come in. We have heard there was an issue in Comanche County, so we are waiting to get that resolved)
