Candidates File for Oklahoma State Legislative Seats

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Candidates File for Oklahoma State Legislative Seats

The Oklahoma candidate filing period this year was April 1-3. Primary elections will be held on June 16, and for those seats in which no candidate in the party primary receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a Runoff Primary will be held on August 25. The General Election will be on November 3.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has 101 members and the Oklahoma Senate has 48 members (only half of the senate seats are up each election cycle). A number of legislators were not able to run for reelection due to Term Limits. Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly adopted a State Question in 1990 that placed limitations on the terms of lawmakers. Legislators are limited to a total combined service in the House and/or Senate of 12 years.

This year, six legislators could not run for reelection due to Term Limits. All are Republicans. The list includes five members of the House, and one member of the Senate.

The five term-limited members of the Oklahoma House are: Chad Caldwell (R-Enid), Chris Kannady (R-Oklahoma City), Mark Lepak (R-Claremore), Ken Luttrell (R-Ponca City), and John Pfeiffer (R-Orlando). Rep. Pfeiffer is seeking to continue in public office, filing for the open Commissioner of Labor post. The term-limited member of the upper chamber is Sen. Shane Jett (R-Shawnee).

A number of other legislators decided not to run, even though they were not term-limited, including eleven members of the Oklahoma House, and two senators. Instead of running for reelection, many of those chose to run for a higher office.

With First District Congressman Kevin Hern running for the U.S. Senate seat that was held by Senator Mullin, Rep. Mark Tedford (R-Tulsa) decided to run for Hern’s open seat.

The House Minority (Democrat) Leader, Rep. Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City), is running for Governor. Three of the legislators not running for reelection are instead running for Lieutenant Governor. Those include Sen. Darrell Weaver (R-Moore), Rep. Brian Hill (R-Mustang), and Rep. Justin Humphrey (R-Lane).

Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow) is running for the open seat on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Rep. Toni Hasenbeck (R-Elgin) is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction. And Rep. Kevin West (R-Moore) is running for Commissioner of Labor.

Other legislators are not running for reelection for various other reasons. Those include Sen. Brent Howard (R-Altus), and representatives Eddy Dempsey (R-Valliant), Scott Fetgatter (R-Okmulgee), Dell Kerbs (R-Shawnee), Mike Osburn (R-Edmond), and Rande Worthen (R-Lawton).

State Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa) filed for reelection, but later suspended his campaign due to a political scandal. Because he ended his reelection bid after the time expired to withdraw from the race, his name will still appear on the Democratic primary ballot on June 16. But, with Waldron suspending his campaign, it is likely that the other Democrat in the race will win the primary. Since no other candidates filed, the seat will remain in the Democrat column.

Some former legislators are attempting to return to the Oklahoma Legislature.

With Rep. Mark Tedford running for Congress, Republican Sheila Dills of Jenks filed for the open seat. She previously represented the South Tulsa, Jenks and Bixby area in the Oklahoma House from 2018 to 2022. She chose not to run for reelection in 2022.

Former Rep. Wendi Stearman (R-Collinsville) is challenging Rep. John Kane (R-Bartlesville) to regain her former seat. Kane took the seat from Stearman in 2022. She unsuccessfully ran for the state senate in 2024.

Former Rep. Dean Davis (R-Broken Arrow) is challenging Rep. Gabe Woolley (R-Broken Arrow) to return to his former seat. Woolley took the seat from Davis in 2024.

Former Democratic Rep. Chelsey Branham who was defeated for reelection in House District 83 in 2020, has filed this year for the House District 85 seat. If she wins the Democrat nomination in the primary, she would face Republican Joe Fallin, the former husband of Gov. Mary Fallin in November.

Senators serve four-year terms, with half of the seats up for election each election cycle. The odd numbered districts will not be on the ballot until 2028. The 24 even numbered seats are up for election this year. However, one odd numbered seat (District 17) will be on the ballot this year due to Term Limits. The seat held by Sen. Shane Jett (R-Shawnee) would not be up for election this year, but Senator Jett reached the 12-year term-limit in the middle of his term due to the time he previously served in the Oklahoma House. That seat therefore will become vacant and an election is being included this year to fill the remainder of his term. The winner in this election would need to run for reelection to a full-term in 2028.

Republicans currently hold a 40-8 majority in the 48 member Senate. The 24 even numbered districts are up for election this year. But, as previously mentioned, the odd numbered seat of Sen. Shane Jett is also on the ballot due to Term Limits. Republicans hold 21 of the odd numbered seats not on the ballot this year, with Democrats holding only two. So, the GOP only needs to win four of the 25 seats on the ballot his year to maintain control.

Seven senators were automatically elected because no other candidates filed. Six of those are Democrats and only one is a Republican. Therefore, Republicans already have 22 seats, and are just three seats short of the 25 needed for continued control of the upper chamber. Meanwhile, the Democrats have eight seats. Republicans will pick up three more seats at the conclusion of the primary elections, since only Republicans are running for those seats. Democrats will not gain any more seats until the General Election in November. So, the GOP will have 25 seats going into the General Election, compared to eight for the Democrats. So, Republicans are guaranteed to remain in control of the Oklahoma Senate. The remaining 15 seats will be filled in the November General Election.

All 101 Oklahoma House seats are up for election each election cycle since they serve two-year terms. In the House there are currently 81 Republicans, 18 Democrats, and two seats are vacant due to the recent resignation of the Democrat incumbents. Because no other candidates filed, or their opponents withdrew or were stricken from the ballot after filing, 27 members of the House have already been elected. That number includes 19 Republicans and 8 Democrats. Fourteen Republicans and four Democrats will be elected in the primary elections, since the respective party nominee will face no opposition in the General Election. Therefore, the GOP will go into the General Election guaranteed to have 33 seats compared to 12 for the Democrats.

The remaining 56 seats will be decided in the General Election. In two of those races, no Democrats filed and the Republican will only face a independent candidate. One seat does not have a Republican running, and the Democrat is only competing with an independent. Because Democrats made a concerted effort to have a member of their party on the ballot this year, it is theoretically possible for Democrats to regain control of the Oklahoma House. However, it is expected that the GOP will again end up with a super-majority.

The following incumbents were reelected to the Senate because they had no opponents:

Jerry Alvord (R-Wilson)

Mary Boren (D-Norman)

Michael Brooks (D-Oklahoma City)

Carri Hicks (D-Oklahoma City)

Julia Kirt (D-Oklahoma City)

Mark Mann (D-Oklahoma City)

Nikki Nice (D-Oklahoma City

The following incumbents were reelected to the House because they had no opponents:

Stacy Jo Adams (R-Duncan)

Arturo Alonso (D-Oklahoma City)

Nick Archer (R-Elk City)