Politics of Oklahoma
Constitution United States Constitution Oklahoma Constitution Impeachment in Oklahoma
Executive Government Governor:Kevin Stitt (R) Lieutenant Governor:Matt Pinnell (R) Secretary of State:Josh Cockroft (R) State Auditor:Cindy Byrd (R) Attorney General:Gentner Drummond (R) State Treasurer:Todd Russ (R) State School Superintendent:Ryan Walters (R) Labor Commissioner:Leslie Osborn (R) Insurance Commissioner:Glen Mulready (R) Corporation Commission: Todd Hiett (R) Kim David (R) Brian Bingman (R) Governor's Cabinet andState Agencies
Legislature Legislature:59th Senate President:Matt Pinnell (R) President pro tempore:Lonnie Paxton (R) Majority floor leader:Julie Daniels (R) Minority leader:Julia Kirt (D) House of Representatives Speaker:Kyle Hilbert (R) Speaker pro tempore:Anthony Moore (R) Majority leader:Mark Lawson (R) Minority leader:Cyndi Munson (D)
Judiciary Judiciary Supreme Court Court of Criminal Appeals Court of Civil Appeals Court on the Judiciary Court of Impeachment Nominating Commission
Elections Elections State Election Board Last election Political parties Democratic Party Republican Party Political party strength
Divisions Counties Cities and towns
Congressional delegation Senate Markwayne Mullin (R) James Lankford (R) House of Representatives 1:Kevin Hern (R) 2:Josh Brecheen (R) 3:Frank Lucas (R) 4:Tom Cole (R) 5:Stephanie Bice (R)
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Thepolitics of Oklahoma exists in a framework of apresidentialrepublic modeled after the United States. Thegovernor of Oklahoma is bothhead of state andhead of government, and of a pluriformtwo-party system.Executive power is exercised by the governor and the government.Legislative power is vested in the governor and the bicameralOklahoma Legislature.Judicial power is vested in thejudiciary of Oklahoma. The political system is laid out in the 1907Oklahoma Constitution.

Oklahoma is currently categorized politically asconservative. The state has a history ofDemocratic state government dominance. Oklahoma came into being as a state at the height of the era ofJim Crow Laws and had aKu Klux Klan presence in the 1920s. Race politics gave way to Democratic political infighting over the New Deal in the 1930s and 1940s and the gradual growth of theOklahoma Republican Party's power. As a result, Oklahoma has voted for Republican presidential candidates all but once since 1952 (in 1964), with the Democratic candidate having failed to pick up a single county in the state in all elections since 2004.^[2] Today all of Oklahoma's federal offices and statewide offices, plus both chambers of the state legislature (with supermajorities), are either held by theRepublican Party or are non-partisan.^[3]

Until 1964,Oklahoma was considered a "swing state" in American politics, shifting back and forth in its support for thetwo majorparties. This was in part due to Oklahoma's situation both as a part of theGreat Plains states, which tended to be reliablyRepublican, and theSouth, which was heavilyDemocratic at that time. Between statehood and 1964, the state voted for the losing candidate just three times, in 1908, 1924, and 1960. However, Oklahoma voters wouldsplit their political allegiances by electing Democrats forlocal government, but Republicans for national office.

Prior to statehood,Republicans dominatedOklahoma Territory politics.^[4] However, from statehood throughWorld War I, Oklahoma was dominated by theDemocratic Party, with the Republican Party and theSocialist Party vying to challenge the Democratic Party's dominance. The2nd Oklahoma Legislature included Oklahoma's first Black member, RepublicanA. C. Hamlin, but passed legislation that made it nearly impossible for African-Americans to seek elective office, which limited him to one term.^[5] In the 1910s, theOklahoma Legislature includedSocialists, but the only bill they sponsored that became law involved hunting.^[6] Socialists were also elected to local office and received the nation's highest vote count per capita for the party's candidate,Eugene V. Debs in 1916. TheJim Crow Law in Oklahoma was struck down by theUnited States Supreme Court, but a special session was called by the Democratic governor and focused onvoting laws that limited black voter participation.^[6] TheKu Klux Klan and the civil rights struggles of theWorld War I era came to Oklahoma in the 1920s, leading to theTulsa race massacre, lynchings and other violence.^[7] Following the practical destruction of the Socialist party in the aftermath of theGreen Corn Rebellion, state politics became a two-party system that continued to exclude black voters.

At theU.S. Presidential level, Oklahoma'selectoral college vote was a reliable part ofFranklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal"coalition (which began in theU.S. election of 1932). Oklahoma did support PresidentEisenhower in1952 and1956, but then returned to supporting the Democrats in1964 (Oklahoma split its electoral college vote Nixon–Byrd 7–1, due to a maverick elector, commonly referred to as afaithless elector, in1960).

During this same period,Oklahoma's Governors,legislature, anddelegation to Congress continued to be dominated by theDemocratic Party. However, there was political infighting over deficit spending in the late 1930s, leading to a successful bipartisan push for a 1941 constitutional amendment requiring legislators to pass a balanced budget.^[8]Leon C. Phillips, who opposed New Deal programs, rose to prominence, first asSpeaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and later asgovernor.^[9]

During thepresidential campaign in 1968, Oklahoma was targeted by theRepublican Party to be included in what was called theSouthern Strategy. Beginning with the second Presidential campaign ofRichard Nixon (who appealed to Oklahoma voters on the issue oflaw and order), Oklahoma gradually changed in its voting pattern in national elections to become an increasingly reliable Republican state for presidential tickets. PresidentGeorge W. Bush carried Oklahoma twice (by a wide margin), in2000 and2004, for example. Starting with the 2004 election results, every county in Oklahoma has gone to the Republican candidate. In 2008, Oklahoma was the only state in which every county was carried byJohn McCain.

Gradually, the success of the Republican Party began to translate into Congressional, legislative, and other local political races.

By the start of the 21st century, conservative Republicans increased their strength in Oklahoma on the statewide level, but Democrats were still a major factor in statewide politics. This began to change in 2004, when the Republicans took control of the state House for only the second time ever, and the first time since 1922. In2006, incumbent Democratic governorBrad Henry won re-election to a second term in a landslide, taking 66% of the vote against former Republican CongressmanErnest Istook, and carrying every county except the three in the strongly RepublicanOklahoma Panhandle. Despite this landslide Democratic victory, the Republicans gained two seats in the State Senate (resulting in a 24–24 tie, although the Democratic Party held the tie-breaking Lieutenant Governor's vote) and increased their lead in the House to 57–44.

In 2008, the Republicans gained two state senate seats, taking control 26–22 of that chamber for the first time in state history, while increasing their membership in the state House to a 61–40 advantage. The Republicans thus had complete control of the state legislature for the first time ever. In addition, Oklahoma was the only state where John McCain carried every county (even though Democrats still had a majority of registered voters).^[10]

The 2010 statewide election saw a historic sweep, as for the first time in Oklahoma history, the GOP won every statewide office up for election that year. In 2010, the GOP increased its majority in the House by six seats and in the Senate by five seats.^[11] (One seat, State Senate District 47, was vacant, as incumbentTodd Lamb was elected Lieutenant Governor, and was filled by special election in January 2011.) The Republicans thus had complete control of state government for the first time ever. On the Congressional front,Tom Coburn held hisU.S. Senate seat and the GOP maintained control of the four House seats it held, and came within 6 points of takingOklahoma's 2nd congressional district, the only Oklahoman Congressional seat not held by the GOP. No Democrat has won a statewide election in Oklahoma since, although incumbentSuperintendent of Public InstructionJoy Hofmeister, who was elected twice as a Republican, switched her affiliation to Democratic in 2021 and retired in 2023.

In the 2012 statewide election, the GOP captured the 2nd District seat, and thus held every statewide office as well as the entire Congressional delegation. The GOP also increased its majorities in the Oklahoma Legislature by four seats in theOklahoma House of Representatives for a total of 71 seats and one in theOklahoma Senate for a total of 32 seats. In both cases, the GOP gained asupermajority. The 2014 statewide election saw the GOP maintain its hold of all the statewide and Congressional seats (all five House seats and, due to bothJames Inhofe's seat being up for re-election andTom Coburn resigning his seat mid-term, both Senate seats), its hold of its 71 seats in the House, and increase its Senate bloc to 39 seats. However, in 2018, Republican RepresentativeSteve Russell from the 5th congressional district was defeated in his second reelection bid by Democratic nomineeKendra Horn, marking the first time a Democrat had been elected to the seat since 1974. This result reflected a growing shift in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas to the Democratic Party, as although Republicans won the district back in 2020 and carried it in the presidential election, Democrats won the area in the 2022 elections.

As in the national government of the United States, power in Oklahoma is divided into three main branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

Thecapital of the state isOklahoma City and theGovernor of Oklahoma isKevin Stitt, aRepublican. His first term began on January 14, 2019. The currentLieutenant Governor of Oklahoma is RepublicanMatt Pinnell. Pinnell concurrently serves, by virtue of his office as lieutenant governor, as thepresident of the Oklahoma Senate. The offices of the governor and lieutenant governor have four-year terms. The Governor is assisted by aCabinet consisting of the assembled heads of the various executive departments called Secretaries. Of the Secretaries, the highest in rank isSecretary of State, currentlyMichael Rogers, aRepublican, who is the only appointed executive officer under theOklahoma Constitution.

Other statewide executive offices are contested in elections and serving four-year terms that run concurrent with that of the Governor, with the exception of the three members of theOklahoma Corporation Commission. Those members serve staggered six-year terms, with one member's term up for election every two years.

The state legislature is abicameral body consisting of theOklahoma Senate andOklahoma House of Representatives, with members elected directly by the people. There are 48 state senators, each serving a staggered four-year term and 101 members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, each serving a two-year term. Members of both houses are elected from single member districts of equal population.

The state has term limits for their legislature that restrict any one person to a total of twelve years service in both the House and Senate.

The state legislature convenes in regular session at noon each odd-numbered year on the first Monday in February.^[12] However, in the odd-numbered years following an election, the state legislature must meet on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January for the sole purpose of determining the outcome of the statewide elections. The state constitution limits the state legislature to meeting 160 legislative days during each biennium.^[13] In addition, the legislature may not meet in regular session after the last Friday in May of each year.^[12]

In the58th Legislature, the Republicans control both houses with an 81-20 majority in the House and a 40-8 majority in the Senate.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives

The Oklahoma Senate

The Oklahoma House of Representatives^[14]

The Oklahoma Senate^[15]

TheJudiciary of Oklahoma has six levels. Most cases start in the district courts, which are courts of general jurisdiction. The lowest level courts are the Municipal Courts which exist to oversee the administration of justice within cities and have jurisdiction only over the violation of city ordinances. Appeals from Municipal Courts are heard by District Courts. There are 77 District Courts, with each having either a single or multiple District Judges with at least one Associate District Judge to administer justice. Appeals from the District Courts and challenges to certain governmental decisions are heard by either theOklahoma Court of Civil Appeals for civil appeals or theOklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals for criminal appeals. The Court of Civil Appeals has twelve judges who sit in two-judge divisions and the Court of Criminal Appeals has five judges.

Two specialized courts within administrative agencies have been established, the Court of Tax Review hears disputes involving illegal taxes levied by county and city governments, and the Workers’ Compensation Court.

The nine-justiceOklahoma Supreme Court is the court of last resort for all civil appeals. The Court hasappellate jurisdiction on all civil issues, the Court of Civil Appeals, the Court of Tax Review and the Worker's Compensation Court. The Court only hasoriginal jurisdiction when new first impression issues, or important issues of law, or matters of great public interest are at stake.

Within the Oklahoma court system there are two independent courts: theOklahoma Court on the Judiciary which monitors the actions of all judges and justices and theOklahoma Court of Impeachment, which is theOklahoma Senate sitting, which acts serves as the only court that can remove the highest levels of state government officials from their offices.

Federal court cases are heard in theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma based inMuskogee, theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma based inTulsa, and theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma based inOklahoma City. Appeals are heard by theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit based inDenver, Colorado.

Oklahoma's twoU.S. Senators, RepublicansJames Lankford andMarkwayne Mullin, are elected at-large, serving since 2015 and 2023, respectively.

Oklahoma is currently represented by fivecongressional districts in theUnited States House of Representatives. At one point, Oklahoma had as many as eight congressional districts and as many as threeat-large districts, but the state's sluggish population growth resulted in the state losing its seventh and eighth districts in 1953 and its sixth district in 2003.

Oklahoma's 1st congressional district is based in Tulsa and covers the northeastern corner of the state and it bordersKansas to the north. It is represented byKevin Hern, a Republican.

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district covers (approximately) the eastern one-fourth of the state, borderingKansas to the north,Missouri andArkansas to the east, andTexas along theRed River to the south. It is represented byJosh Brecheen, a Republican.

Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district covers western Oklahoma, from the Panhandle to the Tulsa suburbs, and bordersNew Mexico to the west,Colorado andKansas to the north, and theTexas panhandle to the south. It is represented byFrank Lucas, a Republican.

Oklahoma's 4th congressional district covers south-central Oklahoma and bordersTexas along the Red River to the south. It is represented byTom Cole, a Republican.

Oklahoma's 5th congressional district, centered in Oklahoma City, covers central Oklahoma and borders all of the other congressional districts except District 1. It is represented byStephanie Bice, a Republican.

• 
  Kevin Hern,1st district
• 
  Josh Brecheen,2nd district
• 
  Frank Lucas,3rd district
• 
  Tom Cole,4th district
• 
  Stephanie Bice,5th district

Oklahoma is part of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, and theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the Denver-based United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

• Oklahoma Democratic Party
• Oklahoma Republican Party
• Green Party of Oklahoma
• Oklahoma Libertarian Party
• Pirate Party of Oklahoma
• Socialist Party of Oklahoma
• Political party strength in Oklahoma
• Governor of Oklahoma
• Oklahoma Legislature
• United States congressional delegations from Oklahoma
• List of United States senators from Oklahoma
• Oklahoma's congressional districts
• List of politics by U.S. state
• Split-ticket voting
• Party switching in the United States

• Brief on Oklahoma politics.
• Oklahoma Political Science Association Homepage.
• Oklahoma's two U.S. Senators
• Oklahoma Democratic Party
• Oklahoma Republican Party
• Republican State Senator Nancy Riley switches parties from Republican to Democrat
• Lawton Politics

• Politics of Oklahoma

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