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2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Oklahoma. Incumbent Republican governor Mary Fallin was term-limited, and was prohibited by the Constitution of Oklahoma from seeking another gubernatorial term. Republican Businessman Kevin Stitt was elected with 54.3% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee and former Oklahoma attorney general Drew Edmondson.
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Primary elections occurred on June 26, 2018. Edmondson won the Democratic nomination outright. Stitt, however, faced a runoff election against former Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett. On August 28, 2018, Stitt won the Republican primary runoff and became the Republican nominee for the office. The Libertarian Party also held a primary, which advanced to a runoff, with Chris Powell, a former chair of the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma, winning the nomination.[1][2]
This was the first election in which the Libertarian Party has been on the ballot to participate in a gubernatorial election in Oklahoma,[3] and the only time since 1986 that a candidate from the incumbent president's party was elected Governor of Oklahoma.
A member of the Cherokee Nation, Stitt became the first tribally enrolled Native American to serve as governor of a U.S. state.[4]
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Republican primary
Candidates
Nominated
- Kevin Stitt, businessman[5]
Eliminated in the primary runoff
Eliminated in the initial primary
- Christopher Barnett, businessman[7]
- Dan Fisher, former state representative[8]
- Eric Foutch, veteran[9]
- Barry Gowdy, nurse[9]
- Gary Jones, Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector[10]
- Todd Lamb, Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma[11]
- Gary Richardson, former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, nominee for OK-02 in 1978 and 1980, and independent candidate for governor in 2002[12]
- Blake "Cowboy" Stephens, rancher and educator[9]
Endorsements
Mick Cornett
- Mayors
- Jay Adams, former mayor of Mustang, Oklahoma[13]
- Dewey F. Bartlett Jr., former mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma[14]
- Mike Burdge, mayor of Sand Springs, Oklahoma[15]
- Brian Cathey, mayor of Atoka, Oklahoma[16]
- Dale Copeland, mayor of Bartlesville, Oklahoma[17]
- Patrice Douglas, former mayor of Edmond, Oklahoma[18]
- Fred Fitch, mayor of Lawton, Oklahoma[19]
- Charles Lamb, former mayor of Edmond, Oklahoma[20]
- Brian Linley, mayor of Del City, Oklahoma[21]
- Saundra Naifeh, former mayor of Edmond, Oklahoma[22]
- Homer Nicholson, mayor of Ponca City, Oklahoma[23]
- Kim Petersen, mayor of Guymon, Oklahoma
- Hank Ross, former mayor of Chickasha, Oklahoma[24]
- Bill Shewey, mayor of Enid, Oklahoma[25]
- Jeff Shockley, mayor of Guymon, Oklahoma[26]
- Jack Smiley, mayor of Altus, Oklahoma[27]
- Craig Thurmond, mayor of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma[28]
- Jimmy Trammell, mayor of Pryor Creek, Oklahoma[29]
- Matt White, mayor of El Reno, Oklahoma[30]
- Individuals
- Gary Richardson, former Eastern District Attorney and candidate for governor in 2002 & 2018[31]
- Organizations
- Oklahomans for Public Education[32]
- Newspapers
- The Oklahoman[33]
- Tulsa World[34]
- The Yukon Review[35]
Todd Lamb
- U.S. representatives
- Individuals
- Tommy Franks, retired U.S. Army general[37]
- Donald Trump Jr., businessman and son of U.S. president Donald Trump[38]
- Organizations
Gary Richardson
- Individuals
- Monica Deon, former Tulsa County Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016 volunteer coordinator[40]
- Thomas P. Stafford, Apollo 10 commander[41]
- Organizations
Kevin Stitt
- U.S. executive branch officials
- Mike Pence, 48th vice president of the United States[44]
- Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States[45][46]
- U.S. senators
- Tom Coburn, former U.S. senator from Oklahoma[47]
- Ted Cruz, U.S. senator from Texas[48]
- Jim Inhofe, U.S. senator from Oklahoma[49]
- Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania[50]
- U.S. representatives
- Bill Brewster, former congressman (Democratic)[51]
- Frank Lucas (OK-3)[52]
- Wes Watkins, former congressman[53]
- Governors
- Mayors
- Individuals
- Blake Stephens, rancher, educator and candidate for governor of Oklahoma in 2018[56]
- Organizations
- IAFF Local 176[57]
- National Federation of Independent Business[58]
- Newspapers
First round
Polling
Hypothetical polling
Results

Cornett
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
Stitt
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
Lamb
- 20–30%
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
Fisher
- 20–30%
Runoff
Campaign finance
Polling
Results

Stitt
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
Cornett
- 50–60%
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Democratic primary
Summarize
Perspective
Candidates
Nominated
- Drew Edmondson, former attorney general of Oklahoma and candidate for governor of Oklahoma in 2010[75]
Eliminated in the primary
- Connie Johnson, former state senator and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014[76]
Withdrew
- Scott Inman, state representative[77]
- Norman Jay Brown, auto mechanic[78]
Declined
Endorsements
Drew Edmondson
- Governors
- David Boren, 21st governor of Oklahoma, former president of University of Oklahoma, former US senator[86]
- Mayors
- State representatives
- Scott Inman, minority leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and candidate for governor of Oklahoma in 2018[88]
- Newspapers
- The Tulsa World, daily newspaper for Tulsa, Oklahoma[89]
- Individuals
- Norman Jay Brown, auto mechanic and candidate for governor of Oklahoma in 2018[90]
- Organizations
Polling
Hypothetical polling
with Norman Brown
Results

Edmondson
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
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Libertarian primary
Candidates
Nominated
- Chris Powell, former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party and candidate for Oklahoma County Clerk in 2016[94]
Eliminated in the primary runoff
- Rex L. Lawhorn, former chair of the Oklahoma Americans Elect Party and Oklahoma State Director for Our America Initiative[95]
Eliminated in the initial primary
- Joe Exotic, zoo operator[96]
Endorsements
Chris Powell
- Newspapers
- The City Sentinel, monthly newspaper for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma[97]
- Individuals
- Jimmy Cook, former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party
- Steve Galpin, former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party
- Tim Gillespie, founder of the Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association
- Frank Grove, president, Drug Reform Network of Oklahoma[98]
- Tina Kelly, former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party
- Tom Laurent, former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party, former member of the Libertarian National Committee
- Robert T. Murphy, former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party, former member of the Libertarian National Committee, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2016
- Angela O'Dell, former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party[99]
- D. Frank Robinson, first chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party, founding member of the national Libertarian Party
- Norma Sapp, director, Oklahoma chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws[98]
- Ken Young, chair of Oklahoma State Board of Cosmetology
First round
Results

Powell
- 100%
- 80–90%
- 70–80%
- 60–70%
- 50–60%
- 40–50%
Powell/Lawhorn tie
- <40%
- 40–50%
- 50%
Lawhorn
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 100%
Exotic
- 40–50%
- 70–80%
- 100%
No votes
- No Votes
Runoff
Campaign finance
Results

Powell
- 100%
- 80–90%
- 70–80%
- 60–70%
- 50–60%
Powell/Lawhorn tie
- 50%
Lawhorn
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 100%
No votes
- No votes
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General election
Summarize
Perspective

Oklahoma determines ballot order by a random drawing which took place for this election cycle on July 12, resulting in the Libertarian Party being listed first, Republicans second, and Democrats third.[100]
Debates
- Complete video of debate , September 24, 2018
Predictions
Polling
Graphical summary
![]() | This graph was using the legacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to the new Chart extension. |
Hypothetical polling
with Mick Cornett
with Todd Lamb
Results
By county
Stitt won 73 counties, while Edmondson won four. Stitt won 56 counties with at least 60% of the popular vote, 14 counties with at least 70%, and three counties – Beaver, Cimarron, and Ellis – with upwards of 80%. Stitt had the largest margin of victory in Cimarron with 73.09% more votes than Edmondson's 12.27%, the latter's lowest county performance in the election. The largest county per vote count won by Stitt was Tulsa County, home of Tulsa. Oklahoma County, of which Oklahoma City is county seat, was the only county where Stitt failed to acquire three out of every seven votes.[119]
Edmondson won Muskogee by a single vote, and had an 11.84% margin of victory – his only margin of victory above 10% – in Oklahoma County. Edmondson won his four counties with typically narrower margins than that of Stitt, having missed 50% of the popular vote in Muskogee.[119] Powell never came close to winning any counties, but won his highest percentage of votes in Washita County, with 4.97%[119]
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Caddo (largest city: Anadarko)
- Coal (largest city: Coalgate)
- Latimer (largest city: Wilburton)
- Pontotoc (largest city: Ada)
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Cleveland (largest city: Norman)
- Oklahoma (largest city: Oklahoma City)
By congressional district
Stitt won four of five congressional districts.[120]
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See also
References
External links
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