2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma

Not to be confused with 2022 Oklahoma Senate election.

For related races, see 2022 United States Senate elections. For the other Senate election in Oklahoma held in parallel, see 2022 United States Senate election in Oklahoma.

The 2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate for Oklahoma. The election took place concurrently with the regularly scheduled election for Oklahoma's other Senate seat.^[1] The candidate filing deadline was between April 13 and 15, 2022.^[2]

2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma

← 2020 November 8, 2022 (2022-11-08) 2026 →

Nominee Markwayne Mullin Kendra Horn Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 710,643 405,389 Percentage 61.77% 35.24%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Mullin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Horn:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votes

U.S. senator before election Jim Inhofe Republican Elected U.S. senator Markwayne Mullin Republican

This special election was held to fill the remaining four years of incumbent Republican Senator Jim Inhofe's term. In February 2022, Inhofe announced that he would resign early at the end of the 117th United States Congress on January 3, 2023.^[3] He was first elected in a 1994 special election with 55% of the vote to succeed Democratic senator David Boren in the wake of his impending resignation to become president of the University of Oklahoma.^[4] Most recently, Inhofe was re-elected to a fifth full term in 2020 with 62.9% of the vote.^[5]

Former U.S. Representative Kendra Horn secured the Democratic nomination by default, while the primary election for the Republican nomination took place on June 28, 2022. U.S. Representative Markwayne Mullin won the Republican primary runoff on August 23, defeating former State House Speaker T. W. Shannon.^[2] Mullin ultimately won the election.^[6]

Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation, became the first Native American to serve in the U.S. Senate since fellow Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell retired from Congress in 2005, and the first Native American representing this state since Robert Owen in 1925.^[7] Conversely, Horn won Oklahoma County, making her the first Democrat since 2008 to carry any Oklahoma county in a Senate election.

Republican primary

On February 25, 2022, Jim Inhofe, the state's longest-serving U.S. Senator, announced he would leave office at the end of the 117th Congress, triggering a special election for his U.S. Senate seat in Oklahoma.^[8] A crowded field of candidates was expected in the Republican primary following the announcement of Inhofe's retirement.^[9]

Luke Holland, Inhofe's former chief of staff, launched his campaign for Inhofe's seat on the same day with Inhofe's endorsement.^[8] The next day, Markwayne Mullin, a U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district, announced his campaign.^[10] By February 28, Oklahoma State Senator Nathan Dahm had announced he was switching his campaign from running for Oklahoma's Class III seat to running for the special election seat.^[11] On March 8, former United States National Security Council chief of staff Alex Gray announced his campaign.^[12] T. W. Shannon, a former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, officially announced his campaign on March 11.^[13] Scott Pruitt, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed to run on April 15.^[14]

Candidates

Former state house speaker T. W. Shannon lost the runoff.

Nominee

• Markwayne Mullin, U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district^[10]

State senator Nathan Dahm finished third in the initial primary.

Eliminated in runoff

• T. W. Shannon, former speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives (2013–2014), former state representative for the 62nd district (2007–2015), and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014^[15]

Eliminated in initial primary

• Michael Coibion^[16]
• Nathan Dahm, state senator for the 33rd district (2012–present) and candidate for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district in 2010 and 2018^[11]
• Jessica Jean Garrison, author, dietician and daughter of former state senator Earl Garrison^[17][16]
• Randy Grellner, physician^[18]
• Luke Holland, former chief of staff for U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe^[19]
• Adam Holley, office manager^[16]
• Laura Moreno^[16]
• Scott Pruitt, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (2017–2018) and former attorney general of Oklahoma (2011–2017)^[14]
• Paul Royse^[16]
• John Tompkins, orthopedic surgeon and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020^[18]

Withdrew before primary

• Alex Gray, former United States National Security Council chief of staff (Endorsed Luke Holland in primary and Markwayne Mullin in runoff)^[20]

Declined

• Stephanie Bice, U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district (running for re-election)^[3]
• Jim Bridenstine, former administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2018–2021) and former U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district (2013–2018)^[21]
• G. T. Bynum, mayor of Tulsa^[11]
• Gentner Drummond, attorney (running for attorney general)^[22]
• Kevin Hern, U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district (running for re-election)^[23]
• Jackson Lahmeyer, pastor (ran for the Class 3 U.S. Senate seat)^[24]
• Frank Lucas, U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district (running for re-election)^[8]
• Charles McCall, Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives^[25]
• Kyle McCarter, former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya^[26]
• John M. O'Connor, attorney general of Oklahoma (running for attorney general)^[21]
• Matt Pinnell, lieutenant governor of Oklahoma (running for re-election)^[27]
• R. Trent Shores, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma (2017–2021)^[22]
• Kevin Stitt, governor of Oklahoma (running for re-election)^[28]
• Greg Treat, president pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate^[29]
• J. C. Watts, former U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 4th congressional district (1995–2003)^[15]
• Paul Wesselhoft, legislator for the 9th district of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (2007–present) and former state representative for the 54th district (2004–2016)^[30]

First round

Endorsements

Nathan Dahm

U.S. Senators

• Rand Paul, U.S. Senator from Kentucky (2011–present)^[31]

Newspapers

• Tulsa Beacon^[32]

Organizations

• Eagle Forum PAC^[33]
• National Association for Gun Rights^[34]
• Oklahoma Second Amendment Association^[35]
• Oklahomans for Health and Parental Rights^[36]

Alex Gray (withdrew)

Federal executive officials

• Adam Boehler, 1st CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (2019–2021)^[37]
• David M. Friedman, former United States Ambassador to Israel (2017–2021)^[37]
• Richard Grenell, former acting Director of National Intelligence (2020), former United States Ambassador to Germany (2018–2020), and Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations (2019–2021)^[12]
• Keith Kellogg, retired United States Army lieutenant general, former Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the U.S. National Security Council (2017–2018), and National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States (2018–2021)^[38]
• Chris Miller, former acting United States Secretary of Defense (2020–2021)^[38]
• Robert O'Brien, 28th United States National Security Advisor (2019–2021)^[39]
• Kash Patel, former chief of staff to the acting United States Secretary of Defense^[40]
• Matthew Whitaker, former acting United States Attorney General (2018–2019), former Chief of Staff to the United States Attorney General (2017–2018), and former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa (2004–2009)^[37]

U.S. Senators

• Mike Lee, U.S. Senator from Utah (2011–present)^[39]
• Pete Wilson, 36th governor of California (1991–1999) and former U.S. Senator from California (1983–1991)^[37]

U.S. representative

• Paul Gosar, U.S. Representative for Arizona's 4th congressional district (2013–present)^[37]

County officials

• Joe Arpaio, 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona (1993–2017)^[37]

Randy Grellner

Federal Executive officials

• Michael Flynn, 25th United States National Security Advisor (2017) (Democrat)^[41]

Individuals

• Jackson Lahmeyer, candidate for Republican nomination in 2022 United States Senate election in Oklahoma^[42]
• Ed Martin, President of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles and former Chair of the Missouri Republican Party (2013–2015)^[43]

Organizations

• Phyllis Schlafly Eagles^[42]

Luke Holland

U.S. Senators

• Jim Inhofe, U.S. Senator from Oklahoma (1994–2023), former U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district (1987–1994) and former mayor of Tulsa (1978–1984)^[28]

Individuals

• Alex Gray, former United States National Security Council chief of staff and candidate in the Republican primary for the 2022 U.S. senate special election in Oklahoma^[20]

Political action committees

• Okieway^[44]

Markwayne Mullin

Individuals

• Harold Hamm, oil and gas industry businessman^[45][46]

Newspapers

• Southwest Ledger^[47]

T. W. Shannon

Federal executive officials

• Neal McCaleb, 8th Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs (2001–2003), 1st and 3rd Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation (1987–1991) (1995–2001), and former Oklahoma State representative (1975–1983)^[48]

State executive officials

• Rita Aragon, 4th Oklahoma Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2011–2019) and retired United States Air National Guard major general^[49]
• Gary Ridley, 6th Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation (2009–2017)^[48]

State representatives

• Hopper Smith, United States National Guard brigadier general and former Oklahoma State representative for the 67th district^[49]

Tribal officials

• Bill Anoatubby, Governor of the Chickasaw Nation (1987–present) (Democrat)^[13]

U.S. military generals

• Lee Baxter, retired United States Army Major General^[49]
• Jesse Cross, 50th Quartermaster General of the United States Army (2007–2010) and retired United States Army brigadier general^[49]
• Toney Stricklin, retired United States Army major general^[49]

Individuals

• Mark Levin, lawyer, author, and radio personality; host of The Mark Levin Show^[50]

Organizations

• Association of Oklahoma General Contractors^[51]

Scott Pruitt

Federal executive officials

• Rick Perry, former Secretary of Energy, former governor of Texas^[52]

Debates

2022 Republican primary debates

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Participants
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Non-invitee   I  Invitee  W  Withdrawn
					Nathan Dahm	Luke Holland	Markwayne Mullin	Scott Pruitt	T.W. Shannon
1	June 9, 2022	News on 6	Amanda Taylor	Link	P	P	A	P	P
2	June 22, 2022	News on 6	Alex Cameron	Link	P	P	A	P	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Nathan Dahm	Jessica Garrison	Alex Gray	Randy Grellner	Luke Holland	Adam Holley	Markwayne Mullin	Scott Pruitt	T.W. Shannon	Other	Undecided
SoonerPoll[53]	June 13–21, 2022	350 (LV)	± 5.2%	8%	–	2%	1%	5%	–	39%	2%	13%	–	30%
Amber Integrated (R)[54]	June 6–9, 2022	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	5%	3%	0%	1%	4%	0%	38%	6%	19%	0%[b]	22%
SoonerPoll[55]	April 25 – May 11, 2022	306 (LV)	± 5.6%	6%	0%	0%	1%	3%	1%	38%	3%	16%	0%[b]	31%
Amber Integrated (R)[56]	March 24–27, 2022	455 (LV)	± 4.6%	6%	–	1%	–	2%	–	39%	–	14%	–	38%

Results

Initial primary results by county:

  Mullin

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

  Shannon

•   30–40%

  Grellner

•   20–30%

Republican primary results^[57][58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Markwayne Mullin	156,087	43.62%
	Republican	T. W. Shannon	62,746	17.53%
	Republican	Nathan Dahm	42,673	11.92%
	Republican	Luke Holland	40,353	11.28%
	Republican	Scott Pruitt	18,052	5.04%
	Republican	Randy Grellner	15,794	4.41%
	Republican	Laura Moreno	6,597	1.84%
	Republican	Jessica Jean Garrison	6,114	1.71%
	Republican	Alex Gray (withdrew)	3,063	0.86%
	Republican	John F. Tompkins	2,332	0.65%
	Republican	Adam Holley	1,873	0.52%
	Republican	Michael Coibion	1,261	0.35%
	Republican	Paul Royse	900	0.25%
Total votes			357,845	100.0%

Runoff

Endorsements during runoff

Markwayne Mullin

Executive branch officials

• Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)^[59]

Statewide elected officials

• Kevin Stitt, Governor of Oklahoma (2019–present)^[60]

Debates

2022 Republican primary debates

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Participants
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Non-invitee   I  Invitee  W  Withdrawn
					Markwayne Mullin	T.W. Shannon
1	August 2, 2022	News on 6		Link	P	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Markwayne Mullin	T.W. Shannon	Undecided
SoonerPoll[61]	August 11–17, 2022	322 (LV)	± 5.4%	53%	47%	0%
Amber Integrated (R)[62]	August 11–15, 2022	684 (LV)	± 3.8%	49%	31%	20%
Battleground Connect (R)[63]	July 31 – August 1, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.7%	46%	38%	16%
SoonerPoll[64]	July 25 – August 1, 2022	383 (LV)	± 5.0%	63%	35%	1%

Results

Primary runoff results by county:

  Mullin

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

  Shannon

•   50–60%

Republican primary results^[65]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Markwayne Mullin	183,118	65.08%
	Republican	T. W. Shannon	98,246	34.92%
Total votes			281,364	100.0%

Democratic nomination

Former U.S. Representative Kendra Horn was the only Democrat to file to run and was automatically awarded the Democratic nomination.^[66]

General election

Candidates

• Kendra Horn (Democratic), former U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district^[16]
• Markwayne Mullin (Republican), U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district^[67]
• Robert Murphy (Libertarian), retired University of Oklahoma data technician, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and carpenter^[68]
• Ray Woods (independent), candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014^[18]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[69]	Solid R	February 24, 2022
Inside Elections[70]	Solid R	February 24, 2022
Sabato's Crystal Ball[71]	Safe R	March 1, 2022
Politico[72]	Solid R	April 1, 2022
RCP[73]	Safe R	February 24, 2022
Fox News[74]	Solid R	May 12, 2022
DDHQ[75]	Solid R	July 20, 2022
538[76]	Solid R	June 30, 2022
The Economist[77]	Safe R	September 7, 2022

Post-primary endorsements

Markwayne Mullin (R)

U.S. Representatives

• Tulsi Gabbard, former U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district (2013–2021) (Independent)^[78]

Organizations

• Associated General Contractors of America^[79]
• Campaign for Working Families^[80]
• Citizens Against Government Waste^[81]
• National Rifle Association of America^[80]
• National Right to Life^[82]
• Oklahoma Farm Bureau^[83]
• Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police^[84]
• Tea Party Express^[85]

Kendra Horn (D)

State legislators

• Kris Steele, Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Speaker pro tempore of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and state representative for the 26th district (2001–2013) (Republican)^[86]

Organizations

• Brady Campaign^[87]
• Edmond Democratic Women^[88]
• League of Conservation Voters Action Fund^[89]
• National Education Association^[90]
• Sally's List^[91]

Newspapers

• Tulsa World^[92]

Individuals

• Seth MacFarlane, actor, singer, and writer^[93]
• Mark Ruffalo, actor^[93]

Polling

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Markwayne Mullin (R)	Kendra Horn (D)	Other [c]	Margin
270towin[94]	October 11 – November 7, 2022	November 7, 2022	53.0%	39.8%	7.2%	Mullin +13.2

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Markwayne Mullin (R)	Kendra Horn (D)	Other	Undecided
Ascend Action (R)[95]	November 5–6, 2022	682 (LV)	± 3.8%	53%	41%	3%[d]	4%
Amber Integrated (R)[96]	October 26–28, 2022	501 (LV)	± 4.4%	52%	41%	4%[e]	2%
Emerson College[97]	October 25–28, 2022	1,000 (LV)	± 3.0%	56%	35%	4%[f]	5%
				59%	36%	5%[g]	–
Ascend Action (R)[98]	October 24–28, 2022	749 (LV)	± 3.6%	47%	41%	4%[h]	8%
Amber Integrated (R)[99]	October 13–15, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	52%	39%	5%[i]	3%
Ascend Action (R)[100]	October 10–12, 2022	638 (LV)	± 3.9%	50%	39%	1%[j]	10%
SoonerPoll[101]	October 3–6, 2022	301 (LV)	–	51%	42%	3%[k]	4%
Amber Integrated (R)[102]	September 19–21, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	50%	39%	–	11%
–(L)[A]	September 15–18, 2022	2,989 (LV)	± 3.2%	49%	37%	5%[l]	9%
SoonerPoll[103]	September 2–7, 2022	402 (LV)	± 4.9%	52%	40%	4%[m]	4%
Echelon Insights[104]	August 31 – September 7, 2022	522 (RV)	± 6.3%	58%	28%	–	13%

Results

2022 United States Senate special election in Oklahoma^[105][106]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Markwayne Mullin	710,643	61.77%	−1.14%
	Democratic	Kendra Horn	405,389	35.24%	+2.49%
	Libertarian	Robert Murphy	17,386	1.51%	−0.70%
	Independent	Ray Woods	17,063	1.48%	N/A
Total votes			1,150,481	100.0%
Turnout			1,150,481	50.11%
Registered electors			2,295,906
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Oklahoma (largest city: Oklahoma City)

By congressional district

Mullin won all five congressional districts.^[107]

District	Mullin	Horn	Representative
1st	56.5%	40.5%	Kevin Hern
2nd	72.5%	24.6%	Markwayne Mullin (117th Congress)
			Josh Brecheen (118th Congress)
3rd	67.3%	29.6%	Frank Lucas
4th	60.3%	36.5%	Tom Cole
5th	53.8%	43.4%	Stephanie Bice

See also

• 2022 United States Senate elections
• 2022 Oklahoma elections
• 118th United States Congress
• List of special elections to the United States Senate

Notes

1. This poll was conducted in-house by and for Natalie Bruno's campaign for Governor

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Coibion, Moreno, Royse, and Tompkins with 0%
3. Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
4. Woods (I) with 2%; Murphy (L) with 1%
5. Murphy (L) with 2%; Woods (I) with 2%
6. Woods (I) with 3%; Murphy (L) with 1%
7. Woods (I) with 4%; Murphy (L) with 1%
8. Murphy (L) with 2%; Woods (I) with 2%
9. Murphy (L) with 3%; Woods (I) with 2%
10. Woods (I) with 1%; Murphy (L) with <1%
11. Woods with 3%
12. Murphy with 4%; Woods with 1%
13. Woods with 4%