Tulsa's Mike Mazzei will be Oklahoma's next governor after defeating Democrat Cyndi Munson in the Nov. 3 general election. The Associated Press declared Mazzei the winner at 10:46 p.m. CST, KJRH reported.
With 98% of precincts reporting, Mazzei secured 52% of the vote (569,779 votes) in a five-candidate field, according to NonDoc. Munson received 45.9% (502,736 votes). Three independent candidates split about 2.2% of the total. All results remain unofficial until certified by the Oklahoma State Election Board.
The win keeps the governor's office in Republican hands. Mazzei succeeds term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt and is scheduled to take office Jan. 11, 2027, at the Oklahoma State Capitol, KTUL reported.
Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
Mike Mazzei (winner) | R | 569,779 | 52% |
Cyndi Munson | D | 502,736 | 45.9% |
Robert E. Brooks Sr. | I | 11,424 | 1.04% |
Orlando Lynn Bush | I | 4,859 | 0.44% |
Jerry Griffin | I | 7,304 | 0.67% |
Unofficial results with 97.98% of precincts reporting as of election night, Nov. 3. Source: NonDoc, citing Oklahoma State Election Board data. Individual independent vote totals were not broken out.
How the race shaped up
Mazzei, a financial adviser and former state senator from Tulsa, won President Donald Trump's endorsement and survived a close GOP primary runoff against Attorney General Gentner Drummond on Aug. 25, winning by about 2,000 votes, KGOU reported.
He made tax cuts a central campaign promise, proposing to eliminate the income tax and end property taxes for seniors and veterans, according to KGOU. Mazzei and his wife, Noel, loaned his campaign $11 million through August, making up almost 90% of the money his campaign raised, according to state filings reported by KGOU.
Munson, the Oklahoma House minority leader, campaigned on increasing public school investment, lowering health care costs and repealing Oklahoma's abortion ban, the OU Daily reported. She was the first Asian American woman elected to the state Legislature, according to the OU Daily.
Munson's 45.9% was the highest finish for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate since Gov. Brad Henry was elected to his second term in 2006, NonDoc reported.
Record early voting in Tulsa County
Tulsa County voters turned out in force. Four days of early voting drew 26,211 ballots, topping the previous record of 25,954 set before the 2024 presidential election, the Oklahoma Eagle reported. The midterm record of 16,302 early ballots in 2022 was far surpassed.
Statewide, about 186,500 Oklahomans voted early in person, roughly 40% more than in the 2022 midterm, the OU Daily reported. Overall voter turnout statewide was about 45%, down from 50% in 2022 and 56% in 2018, according to The Frontier.
Updated results will continue to post on the Oklahoma State Election Board website.
