2018 Oklahoma elections

The 2018 general election was held in the U.S. state of Oklahoma on November 6, 2018. All of Oklahoma's executive officers were up for election as well as the state's five seats in the United States House of Representatives, half of the 48 seats in the Oklahoma Senate, and all 101 seats in the Oklahoma House, and five offices in each of Oklahoma's 77 counties. Voter turnout was 42.5% of the eligible population, a 12.6% increase over the 2014 midterms, but still the third lowest in the nation.^[1]

2018 Oklahoma elections

← 2016 November 6, 2018 2020 →

Due to Gary Johnson's results in the 2016 presidential election, the Oklahoma Libertarian Party had ballot status to run candidates in 2018.^[2] This was the first time an alternative party has been able to participate in mid-term elections in the state since 1998. Five Independents, led in a loosely coordinated effort by former Oklahoma Democratic Party chair Ivan Holmes, were candidates for statewide executive offices.^[3]

The ballot order was determined by random drawing for placement of candidates by party. Results of the drawing on July 12 were that Libertarian candidates would be placed first, Republicans second, and Democrats third.^[4] By statute, Independents are always listed after partisan candidates.

State Constitutional Officers

Parties		Seats
		2016	2018	+/-	Strength
	Republican Party	11	11
	Democratic Party	0	0

Governor

Main article: 2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

Incumbent Republican governor Mary Fallin was term-limited and could not seek a third term.

Lieutenant governor

2018 Oklahoma lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Matt Pinnell Anastasia Pittman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 729,219 406,797 Percentage 61.9% 34.5%

County results Congressional district results Pinnell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Lieutenant governor before election Todd Lamb Republican Elected Lieutenant governor Matt Pinnell Republican

In Oklahoma, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately. Incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Todd Lamb was term-limited and could not seek a third term.

Republican primary

Declared

• Dominique DaMón Block Sr., 2010 candidate for Oklahoma State House^[5]
• Eddie Fields, Oklahoma state senator from the 10th District^[6]
• Dana Murphy, Oklahoma Corporation Commission member and geologist^[7]
• Matt Pinnell, former national state party director for the Republican National Committee and former Oklahoma Republican Party chair^[8]

Results

Republican primary results
June 26, 2018^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dana Murphy	196,727	45.8
	Republican	Matt Pinnell	153,178	35.7
	Republican	Eddie Fields	58,938	13.7
	Republican	Dominique Damon Block Sr.	20,262	4.7
Total votes			429,105	100.00

Republican primary runoff results
August 28, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Pinnell	171,575	58.1
	Republican	Dana Murphy	123,557	41.9
Total votes			295,132	100.00

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dana Murphy	Matt Pinnell	Undecided
Remington (R)[10]	August 1–2, 2018	1,757	± 2.3%	40%	32%	28%
Right Strategy Group (R)[11]	August 1–2, 2018	385	± 5.0%	30%	25%	45%

Democratic primary

Declared

• Anna Dearmore, 2016 Democratic candidate for District 16 of the Oklahoma House of Representatives^[12]
• Anastasia Pittman, Oklahoma state senator from the 48th District^[13]

Declined

• Jerry McPeak, former state representative^[14]

Results

Democratic primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Anastasia Pittman	188,676	50.4
	Democratic	Anna Dearmore	185,554	49.6
Total votes			374,230	100.00

Independent

Declared

• Ivan Holmes, 2014 Democratic candidate for Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction^[15]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Matt Pinnell (R)	Anastasia Pittman (D)	Ivan Holmes (I)	Undecided
SoonerPoll[16]	October 23–25, 2018	447	± 4.6%	46%	32%	8%	14%
SoonerPoll[17]	September 5–10, 2018	407	± 4.9%	49%	31%	5%	15%

Results

2018 lieutenant gubernatorial election, Oklahoma^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Matt Pinnell	729,219	61.89%
	Democratic	Anastasia Pittman	406,797	34.53%
	Independent	Ivan Holmes	42,147	3.58%
Turnout			1,178,190

Attorney general

2018 Oklahoma Attorney General election

← 2014 2022 →

Nominee Mike Hunter Mark Myles Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 750,769 421,699 Percentage 64.0% 36.0%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Hunter:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Myles:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%      No votes

Attorney General before election Mike Hunter Republican Elected Attorney General Mike Hunter Republican

Incumbent Republican attorney general Scott Pruitt was term-limited and could not run for a third term. Pruitt resigned on February 17, 2017, upon being confirmed as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.^[19]

Republican primary

Declared

Nominee

• Mike Hunter, incumbent attorney general of Oklahoma^[20]

Eliminated in runoff

• Gentner Drummond, combat pilot in Operation Desert Storm^[21]

Eliminated in primary

• Angela Bonilla, attorney^[22]

Results

Republican primary results
August 26, 2018^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael J. Hunter	191,324	44.5
	Republican	Gentner Drummond	165,479	38.5
	Republican	Angela Bonilla	73,514	17.1
Total votes			430,317	100.00

Republican primary runoff results
August 28, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael J. Hunter	148,354	50.2
	Republican	Gentner Drummond	142,990	49.8
Total votes			286,931	100.00

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mike Hunter	Gentner Drummond	Undecided
Remington (R)[10]	August 1–2, 2018	1,757	± 2.3%	46%	37%	17%
SoonerPoll[24]	July 18–20, 2018	483	± 4.5%	39%	29%	32%
SoonerPoll[25]	May 15–23, 2018	321 (LV)	± 5.47%	9.48%	25.9%	61.2%

Democratic primary

Declared

• Mark Myles, defense attorney^[26] and 2010 candidate for US Senate

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mike Hunter (R)	Mark Myles (D)	Undecided
SoonerPoll[16]	October 23–25, 2018	447	± 4.6%	53%	33%	14%
SoonerPoll[17]	September 5–10, 2018	407	± 4.9%	52%	34%	14%

Results

2018 Attorney General, Oklahoma

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Michael J. Hunter	750,769	64.03%
	Democratic	Mark Myles	421,699	35.97%
Majority			329,070	28.06%
Turnout			1,172,468

Treasurer

2018 Oklahoma treasurer election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Randy McDaniel Charles De Coune Party Republican Independent Popular vote 779,657 309,525 Percentage 71.6% 28.4%

County results Precinct results McDaniel:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      ≥90% De Coune:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      ≥90%      Tie      No votes

State Treasurer before election Ken A. Miller Republican Elected State Treasurer Randy McDaniel Republican

Incumbent Republican state treasurer Ken A. Miller was term-limited and could not run for a third term.

Republican primary

Declared

• Randy McDaniel, state representative for the 83rd District^[27]

Independent

Declared

• Charles De Coune, lending manager at Oklahoma Water Resources Board^[28]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Randy McDaniel (R)	Charles de Coune (I)	Undecided
SoonerPoll[16]	October 23–25, 2018	447	± 4.6%	45%	29%	26%
SoonerPoll[17]	September 5–10, 2018	407	± 4.9%	42%	20%	38%

Results

2018 State Treasurer election, Oklahoma^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Randy McDaniel	779,657	71.58%
	Independent	Charles de Coune	309,525	28.42%
Turnout			1,089,182

State Auditor and Inspector

2018 Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Cindy Byrd John Yeutter Party Republican Libertarian Popular vote 818,851 270,313 Percentage 75.2% 24.8%

County results Byrd:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

State Auditor and Inspector before election Gary Jones Republican Elected State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd Republican

Incumbent Republican State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones was term-limited and could not run for a third term.

Republican primary

Declared

• Cindy Byrd, Deputy State Auditor^[29]
• Charlie Prater, businessman^[30]
• John Uzzo, 2016 Democratic Oklahoma State Senate District 9 candidate^[15]

Results

Republican primary results
June 26, 2018^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Cindy Byrd	204,058	49.5
	Republican	Charlie Prater	173,667	42.1
	Republican	John Uzzo	34,959	8.5
Total votes			412,684	100.00

Republican primary runoff results
August 28, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Cindy Byrd	143,941	50.2
	Republican	Charlie Prater	142,990	49.8
Total votes			286,931	100.00

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Cindy Byrd	Charlie Prater	Undecided
Remington (R)[10]	August 1–2, 2018	1,757	± 2.3%	35%	33%	32%

Libertarian primary

• Dr. John Yeutter, professor of accounting at Northeastern State University^[31]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Cindy Byrd (R)	John Yeutter (L)	Undecided
SoonerPoll[16]	October 23–25, 2018	447	± 4.6%	51%	22%	27%
SoonerPoll[17]	September 5–10, 2018	407	± 4.9%	56%	17%	26%

Results

2018 State Auditor and Inspector election, Oklahoma^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Cindy Byrd	818,851	75.18%
	Libertarian	John Yeutter	270,313	24.82%
Turnout			1,089,164

Superintendent of Public Instruction

2018 Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction election

← 2014 2022 →

Nominee Joy Hofmeister John Cox Larry Huff Party Republican Democratic Independent Popular vote 687,468 396,901 90,150 Percentage 58.51% 33.78% 7.70%

County results Hofmeister:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Cox:      40–50%

State Superintendent before election Joy Hofmeister Republican Elected State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister Republican

Republican primary

Declared

• Will Farrell^[15]
• Joy Hofmeister, Incumbent superintendent of public instruction^[15]
• Linda Murphy, education advisor to former governor Frank Keating and former deputy commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Labor^[32]

Results

Republican primary results
June 26, 2018^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joy Hofmeister (incumbent)	200,807	46.8
	Republican	Linda Murphy	133,103	31.0
	Republican	Will Farrell	94,805	22.1
Total votes			428,715	100.00

Republican primary runoff results
August 28, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joy Hofmeister (incumbent)	167,054	56.7
	Republican	Linda Murphy	127,668	43.3
Total votes			294,722	100.00

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Joy Hofmeister	Linda Murphy	Undecided
Remington (R)[10]	August 1–2, 2018	1,757	± 2.3%	50%	33%	17%
SoonerPoll[33]	July 18–20, 2018	483	± 4.5%	43%	30%	27%

Democratic primary

Declared

• John Cox, Peggs Public School Superintendent and Superintendent of Public Instruction nominee in 2014^[34]

Independent

Declared

• Larry Huff, retired educator^[35]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Joy Hofmeister (R)	John Cox (D)	Larry Huff (I)	Undecided
SoonerPoll[16]	October 23–25, 2018	447	± 4.6%	45%	33%	11%	11%
SoonerPoll[17]	September 5–10, 2018	407	± 4.9%	51%	31%	9%	9%

Results

2018 State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Oklahoma^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joy Hofmeister (incumbent)	687,468	58.51%	+2.70%
	Democratic	John Cox	396,901	33.78%	−10.34%
	Independent	Larry Huff	90,150	7.70%	N/A
Turnout			1,174,879

Commissioner of Insurance

2018 Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →

Nominee Glen Mulready Bill Case Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 621,954 441,925 Percentage 62.0% 38.0%

County results Mulready:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Insurance Commissioner before election John D. Doak Republican Elected Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready Republican

Incumbent Republican Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak was term-limited and could not run for a third term.

Republican primary

Declared

• Donald Chasteen, insurance agent^[36]
• Glen Mulready, state representative for the 68th District^[37]

Results

Republican primary results^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Glen Mulready	219,031	55%
	Republican	Donald Chasteen	181,011	45%
Total votes			400,042	100.00%

Democratic primary

Declared

• Kimberly Fobbs, former member of Oklahoma's Judicial Nominating Commission^[39]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Glen Mulready (R)	Kimberly Fobbs (D)	Undecided
SoonerPoll[16]	October 23–25, 2018	447	± 4.6%	46%	33%	21%
SoonerPoll[17]	September 5–10, 2018	407	± 4.9%	42%	33%	25%

Results

2018 Commissioner of Insurance, Oklahoma

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Glen Mulready	621,954	61.97%
	Democratic	Kimberly Fobbs	441,925	38.03%
Turnout			1,162,002

Commissioner of Labor

Republican labor commissioner Mark Costello, who was re-elected to a second term in 2014, was fatally stabbed on August 23, 2015.^[40] Attorney General Scott Pruitt's chief of staff Melissa Houston was appointed to serve for the remainder of the term, but pledged that she would not run for election in 2018.^[41]

Republican primary

Declared

• Cathy Costello, widow of former labor commissioner Mark Costello and mental health advocate^[42]
• Leslie Osborn, state representative for the 47th District^[43]
• Keith Swinton, entrepreneur^[44]

Declined

• Melissa Houston, Oklahoma Labor Commissioner^[45]

Results

Republican primary results
June 26, 2018^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Cathy Costello	181,567	43.3
	Republican	Leslie Osborn	150,847	35.9
	Republican	Keith Swinton	87,446	20.8
Total votes			419,950	100.00

Republican primary runoff results
August 28, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Leslie Osborn	151,713	52.4
	Republican	Cathy Costello	138,112	47.6
Total votes			289,825	100.00

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Cathy Costello	Leslie Osborn	Undecided
Remington (R)[10]	August 1–2, 2018	1,757	± 2.3%	40%	32%	28%
SoonerPoll[46]	July 18–20, 2018	483	± 4.5%	32%	22%	46%

Democratic primary

Declared

• Fred Dorrell, human resources labor specialist for Spirit AeroSystems^[47]
• Sam A Mis-Soum, CVO at Mossad Industries Inc.^[48]

Results

Democratic primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Fred Dorrell	269,605	73.4
	Democratic	Sam A Mis-Soum	97,554	26.6
Total votes			367,149	100.00

Independent

Declared

• Brandt Dismukes^[49]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Leslie Osborn (R)	Fred Dorrell (D)	Brandt Dismukes (I)	Undecided
SoonerPoll[16]	October 23–25, 2018	447	± 4.6%	46%	28%	9%	17%
SoonerPoll[17]	September 5–10, 2018	407	± 4.9%	49%	26%	6%	19%

Results

2018 Commissioner of Labor, Oklahoma^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leslie Osborn	717,765	61.73%	−1.03%
	Democratic	Fred Dorrell	389,249	33.47%	−3.77%
	Independent	Brandt Dismukes	55,823	4.80%	N/A
Turnout			1,162,837

Results by county

Osborn:

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Corporation commissioner

One of the three seats on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission was up for election. Incumbent Republican commissioner Bob Anthony, the chairman of the commission, ran for re-election to a sixth six-year term in office.

Republican primary

Declared

• Bob Anthony, incumbent corporation commissioner
• Brian Bingman, former president pro tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate

Results

Republican primary runoff results
August 28, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Anthony	155,930	53.6
	Republican	Brian Bingman	134,926	46.4
Total votes			290,856	100.00

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Anthony	Brian Bingman	Undecided
Remington (R)[10]	August 1–2, 2018	1,757	± 2.3%	50%	30%	20%

Democratic primary

Declared

• Blake Cummings, oil and gas field sales analyst
• Ashley Nicole McCray
• Ken Reich, retired educator
• Beau Williams, attorney^[50]

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ashley Nicole McCray	180,719	48.79%
	Democratic	Blake Cummings	82,138	22.17%
	Democratic	Beau Williams	69,743	18.83%
	Democratic	Ken Reich	37,817	10.21%
Total votes			370,417	100.00

Primary runoff results

Democratic primary runoff results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ashley Nicole McCray	87,752	65.08%
	Democratic	Blake Cummings	47,081	34.92%
Total votes			134,833	100.00

Independent

Declared

• Jackie Short, attorney^[51]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Bob Anthony (R)	Ashley Nicole McCray (D)	Jackie Short (I)	Undecided
SoonerPoll[16]	October 23–25, 2018	447	± 4.6%	51%	30%	8%	12%
SoonerPoll[17]	September 5–10, 2018	407	± 4.9%	48%	30%	9%	15%

Results

2018 Corporation Commissioner, Oklahoma^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bob Anthony	701,279	60.03%
	Democratic	Ashley Nicole McCray	400,634	34.30%
	Independent	Jackie Short	66,282	5.67%
Turnout			1,168,195

Results by county

Anthony:

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Congress

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma

Oklahoma's five seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018.

Parties		Seats
		2016	2018	+/-	Strength
	Republican Party	5	4	1
	Democratic Party	0	1	1

State legislature

The 2018 state legislative elections saw a record eight Republican incumbents lose their primaries.^[52]

Senate

Parties		Seats
		2016	2018	+/-	Strength
	Republican Party	42	38	3	39
	Democratic Party	6	8	3	9

House of Representatives

Oklahoma House of Representatives districts after the November 6, 2018 elections

  Democratic Party

  Republican Party

Parties		Seats
		2016	2018	+/-	Strength
	Republican Party	75	76	1
	Democratic Party	26	25	1

State questions

State questions are ballot propositions to proposed either a legislative measure or an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution. State questions are filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State by either order of the legislature (termed a "legislative referendum") or directly by the people of Oklahoma (termed an "initiative petition").^[53] The secretary of state assigns a number to the state question and notifies the State Election Board of the propositions submission. The governor, by executive proclamation, sets the election date for submission of the state questions to the people.

State Question 788

Main article: 2018 Oklahoma State Question 788

Oklahoma State Question 788 was an initiative petition which sought to legalize the licensed use, sale, and growth of marijuana in Oklahoma for medical purposes.^[54]

Question 788 results

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	507,582	56.9
No	385,176	43.1
Total votes	892,758	100.00

State Question 793

State Question 793

November 6, 2018

Yes   50–60% No   60–70%   50–60% Tie   50%

Oklahoma State Question 793 was an initiative petition which sought to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to allow optometrists to practice within a mercantile establishment.^[55]

Question 793 results

Choice	Votes	%
No	585,928	50.24
Yes	580,341	49.76
Total votes	1,166,269	100.00

State Question 794

State Question 794

November 6, 2018

Yes   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%

Oklahoma State Question 794 was a legislative referendum which sought to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to expand the rights of victims of crime.^[56]

Question 794 results

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	905,195	78.01
No	255,230	21.99
Total votes	1,160,425	100.00

State Question 798

State Question 798

November 6, 2018

No   60–70%   50–60%

Oklahoma State Question 798 was a legislative referendum which sought to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to provide that the governor and lieutenant governor be jointly elected.^[57]

Question 798 results

Choice	Votes	%
No	622,863	54.09
Yes	528,614	45.91
Total votes	1,151,477	100.00

State Question 800

State Question 800

November 6, 2018

No   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%

Oklahoma State Question 800 was a legislative referendum which sought to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to create a new trust fund consisting of a portion of all taxes collected against the extraction of oil and gas resources.^[58]

Question 800 results

Choice	Votes	%
No	653,630	57.22
Yes	488,612	42.78
Total votes	1,142,242	100.00

State Question 801

State Question 801

November 6, 2018

Yes   50–60% No   60–70%   50–60%

Oklahoma State Question 801 was a legislative referendum which sought to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to allow voters within a local school district to expand the permissible use of property taxes to include school operations rather than just for school buildings.^[59]

Question 801 results

Choice	Votes	%
No	581,989	50.4
Yes	572,811	49.6
Total votes	1,154,800	100.00