State Treasurer Todd Russ says Oklahoma is entering the new year on solid economic footing, as he visited with Farm Director KC Sheperd at the 2026 Legislative Kickoff about recent trends and what lies ahead. Russ noted that despite higher interest rates over the past few years, Oklahoma’s economy has continued to show resilience. “If you look back the last two or three years, when the Feds raised the rates, it kind of was to slow everything down, and Oklahoma just slogged right through,” Russ said, adding that recent economic reports have been encouraging. “The reports for December have beat all the previous numbers,” he said.
Russ also highlighted the importance of major agricultural and livestock events across the state, including Cattlemen’s Congress and the upcoming Oklahoma Youth Expo. While those events have a particularly strong impact on Oklahoma City, Russ said their benefits extend statewide. “It’s absolutely fantastic,” he said. “It’s a financial positive, it’s an image positive. The impact is really fantastic, and it just fits really well with Oklahoma.”
As the legislative session approaches, Russ told KC Sheperd that his office is not pushing for major changes, instead focusing on monitoring the state’s financial health. “The Treasurer tries to kind of keep an eye on the numbers and keep my head down,” Russ said. He noted there may be requests to “clean up language on a few things,” but emphasized that upcoming certifications from the Board of Equalization will help set the stage for the session.
Looking ahead, Russ expressed confidence in the state’s financial position, pointing to substantial reserves. “If you add them all together, we still got close to $4 billion in reserves,” he said. Overall, Russ said he remains optimistic. “I’m very, very cautiously optimistic, but I’m pretty excited about seeing what 2026 looks like.”
