By Constitution Staff

While the candidate filing for office for the 2026 Oklahoma elections is still a year away, candidates are beginning to announce for the various offices. In non-presidential election years, a host of state offices are up for election. The list includes the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor and Inspector, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Labor Commissioner, Insurance Commissioner, and one of the seats on the Corporation Commission. The Republican candidate won all of these statewide races in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. The Primary Elections will be held on June 16, 2026, and the Runoff Primary Elections on August 25, 2026. The General Election will be on November 3, 2026.

GOVERNOR

Republican Governor Kevin Stitt is serving his second and final four-year term. Due to Oklahoma term-limits, Stitt cannot run for another term in 2026. Four Republican candidates have filed with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for the governor’s race. They include former the Oklahoma Department of Commerce official Leisa Mitchell Haynes, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, and former state Senator Mike Mazzei. In April, Oklahoma House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson became the first Democrat to declare for the 2026 Oklahoma Governor’s race.

Leisa Mitchell Haynes, 60, was the first Republican candidate out of the gate, announcing her campaign last year. She has a background in media and positions in city and state government. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from East Central University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Central Oklahoma. She has worked as a city manager in Mangum, Tuttle and also a city in New Mexico. She later worked as a Main Street Manager in Purcell and Shawnee. She continued work in the Main Street program at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and served as assistant state director at the agency from 1989 to 2001. She has also had experience in small business as owner of Gas-n-Snak in Choctaw. She has been a candidate for office before, running unsuccessfully for Oklahoma County Clerk and Harrah mayor.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced on January 13 that he will be a Republican candidate for governor. Drummond, 60, served as an Air Force pilot during the Gulf War, and is an attorney, rancher, and businessman. He is the principal owner of Blue Sky Bank. He was elected Oklahoma Attorney General in 2022 after losing the GOP nomination in 2018 to former Attorney General Mike Hunter. Before running for AG, he had not previously been active in the Republican Party and had contributed to Democrat candidates who ran against Sen. Jim Inhofe, Sen. Tom Coburn, and Rep. Jim Bridenstine. He also contributed to Joe Biden in August of 2020. Drummond’s campaign has a head start in funding with funds rolled over from his Attorney General campaign account.

On February 18, former Speaker of the Oklahoma House, Charles McCall of Atoka, announced he would be a candidate for the GOP nomination. McCall, 55, was elected to represent District 22 in the House of Representatives in 2012 and served as Oklahoma’s 48th Speaker of the House from 2017-2024, the longest tenured Speaker in Oklahoma history. He was term-limited in 2024 and could not run again. After earning a degree in finance and economics from the University of Oklahoma, McCall built his career as president and CEO of AmeriState Bank, expanding it to serve broader regions of Oklahoma and Texas. McCall’s political career began locally as a city councilman and later as mayor of Atoka. During his legislative career he was consistently one of the more politically moderate Republicans, earning just a 63 percent cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.

Former State Senator Mike Mazzei, 60, announced April 3 his run for the Republican nomination for Oklahoma governor in 2026. Mazzei is the Founder and CEO of Trinity Strategic Wealth, a financial management firm. He was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2004 and served Senate District 25 for 12 years and could not run for reelection in 2016 due to term-limits. He chaired the Senate Finance Committee for a decade and pushed for tax cuts, pension reform, and ending ineffective tax credits. He was one of the more politically moderate Republicans in the Oklahoma Legislature, earning just a 64 percent cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index. After leaving the Senate, Mazzei joined Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt as his Secretary of Budget from 2019 to 2020.

State Representative Cyndi Munson, the Minority Leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, announced on April 15 that she will seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2026. She is the first Democrat to declare for the 2026 Oklahoma Governor’s race. Munson, 39, was first elected in a 2015 special election. She was elected to a full term in 2016 and reelected in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024. She will be term-limited in 2028. She has mostly worked in the non-profit sector including a long stint at the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma. During her time in the Oklahoma Legislature, she has compiled a strong liberal record, earning only12 percent cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell was elected to the office in 2018 and is completing his second and final term, due to term-limits.

State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd was the first candidate to register a campaign for lieutenant governor in 2026. Byrd, 53, is a CPA and has spent over two decades in state government. Before her election to the post, she served as Deputy Auditor and Inspector. Byrd was elected Auditor and Inspector in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Due to term-limits, she cannot run for reelection in 2026.

State Sen. Darrell Weaver (R-Moore) announced on April 21 that he will run for lieutenant governor. Weaver was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2018, and reelected in 2022. He served for over 28 years in law enforcement, including the last nine years as director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Cameron University and a master’s in business administration from Oklahoma Christian University. During his legislative career he was consistently one of the more politically moderate Republicans, earning a 70 percent cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.

STATE AUDITOR AND INSPECTOR

State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd is term-limited and running for lieutenant governor in 2026. Deputy State Auditor Melissa Capps of McLoud has announced she is running for the Republican nomination. Capps has served in the agency for over 25 years. In her first decade with the office, she worked in the State Agency Audit Division. She currently serves as the Director of the Performance Audit Division. Capps holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Central Oklahoma.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

With the current Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, seeking the governor’s office rather than running for reelection in 2026, the AG office will be an open seat. Former state Representative Jon Echols (R-Oklahoma City) announced on February 26 that he is a candidate for the GOP nomination for Attorney General in 2026. He is the first candidate to declare for the post since Drummond announced his intention to run for Governor. Echols, 45, was elected to his west Oklahoma City House seat in 2012 and served eight years as Majority Floor Leader. He was unable to run for reelection in 2024 due to term-limits. During his legislative career he was been one of the more politically moderate Republicans, earning a 65 percent cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.

COMMISSIONER OF LABOR

Commissioner of Labor Leslie Osborn was first elected to the office in 2018, and was reelected in 2022. She cannot run for reelection in 2026 due to term-limits.

State Rep. John Pfeiffer (R-Mulhall) has officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in April. The Marine Corps veteran is a rancher in Logan County, He was elected to District 38 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2014, and cannot run for reelection in 2026 due to term-limits. During his legislative career he was been one of the more politically moderate Republicans, earning a 56 percent cumulative average on the Oklahoma Conservative Index.

Many more candidates are expected to announce their campaigns for the various state offices in the coming months. Once incumbents who not term-limited announce if they will run for reelection, other candidates will emerge. And, with many more members of the Oklahoma Legislature reaching term-limits next year, some will attempt the leap to higher office.