Mike Mazzei narrowly defeated Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond in Tuesday’s Republican runoff for governor and will face Democratic state Rep. Cyndi Munson in the November 3 general election.
The runoff, held Tuesday, August 25 — a second round of voting triggered because no candidate cleared 50% in the original June primary — came down to a margin of roughly 2,000 votes, with Mazzei taking about 50.3% to Drummond’s 49.7% out of more than 371,000 ballots cast statewide. Drummond, the sitting attorney general, conceded the race that night.
The Oklahoma State Election Board’s website states that the results are not yet official: they remain subject to contest and recount until county election boards certify their counts, which cannot happen before Friday, August 28, and the state’s own certification is expected around September 1. Oklahoma law does not require an automatic recount regardless of the margin; a candidate may request and pay for one.
Key facts
- Winner: Mike Mazzei, Republican runoff for governor
- Margin: About 2,000 votes — 50.3% to 49.7% — out of more than 371,000 ballots cast
- Runoff date: Tuesday, August 25
- General election: November 3, against Democratic state Rep. Cyndi Munson
- Certification: Results are unofficial; county boards can’t certify before Friday, August 28, and state certification is expected around September 1
- Race rating: Forecasters rate the November race as solidly Republican
Timeline
- 2015 — Cyndi Munson wins a special election, becoming the first Asian American elected to the Oklahoma Legislature
- January 2023 — Gentner Drummond becomes Oklahoma attorney general
- June 16 — Original Republican primary ends with no candidate winning a majority; Drummond leads Mazzei
- May — Donald Trump endorses Mazzei
- Day before the runoff — Trump campaigned for Mazzei
- Tuesday, August 25 — Mazzei defeats Drummond in the runoff by about 2,000 votes; Drummond concedes
- Friday, August 28 — Earliest date county election boards can certify results
- Around September 1 — State certification of the runoff results expected
- November 3 — General election: Mazzei faces Munson
Why the race was close
Mazzei and Drummond were separated by less than a percentage point in the original June 16 primary too, when neither of them nor three other Republican candidates — Chip Keating, Jake Merrick and Charles McCall — won a majority outright. Drummond led that first round; Mazzei caught up and passed him in the runoff.
A $500 million aluminum smelter proposed for Inola, backed by the Trump administration and a joint venture of Emirates Global Aluminium and Century Aluminum, became one of the runoff’s defining issues. Mazzei had opposed the smelter project before Trump’s endorsement; after Trump backed him, Mazzei came out in support of the project. Drummond, as attorney general, sued to try to block the smelter, citing concerns about nearby farmland and emissions harming livestock. Separately, Inola’s city council imposed its own moratorium on new permits for the project, lasting through the end of September. The campaign also featured tax and education priorities: Mazzei campaigned to eliminate the state property tax, while Munson campaigned on working-class tax cuts and more funding for public education.
Trump endorsed Mazzei in May and campaigned for him before the runoff. He also criticized Drummond directly, calling him a “FAKE Republican” with “a bad attitude” who “doesn’t stand for the Values of Oklahoma.” That criticism centered on Drummond’s opposition to Trump’s tariff policy and to the smelter, as well as past campaign donations Drummond had made to Democratic figures, including former President Joe Biden. The Oklahoma Republican Party also endorsed Mazzei days before the runoff, an unusual step for the state party in a primary race.
Who’s who
Mike Mazzei
Mazzei is 61 and spent over a decade in the state Senate, representing a Tulsa-area district from 2004 to 2016, before Gov. Kevin Stitt tapped him as Secretary of Budget from 2019 to 2020. Outside politics, he founded a financial-planning firm and is the founder and CEO of Trinity Strategic Wealth; he ran this year on eliminating Oklahoma’s state property tax and lowering income taxes.
Gentner Drummond
Drummond, the state’s attorney general since January 2023, is an Air Force veteran who flew combat missions in the Gulf War and a rancher and businessman from the Drummond family of Osage County. He had led the field after the June primary but lost the runoff after a campaign shaped heavily by Trump’s opposition to him.
The governor’s race was open this year because Gov. Kevin Stitt is term-limited and cannot run for a third consecutive term — the first time Oklahoma Republicans have had an open gubernatorial primary since 2018.
What comes next
Mazzei now moves on to face Munson, the Oklahoma House Minority Leader, on November 3. Munson, who represents an Oklahoma City-area district, became the first Asian American elected to the Oklahoma Legislature after winning a 2015 special election, and won her own Democratic primary in June with about 75% of the vote. She has campaigned on more funding for public education, tax cuts aimed at working-class Oklahomans, expanding rural health care access, and a referendum to overturn the state’s abortion ban.
After Mazzei’s runoff win, Munson’s campaign put out a statement arguing he had “taken the most extreme positions” and has “no plan for protecting healthcare access in rural Oklahoma,” while saying she would work across party lines on education and health care.
Given Oklahoma’s strongly Republican lean, election forecasters have rated the November race as solidly favoring the GOP (the Republican Party) heading into the general election.