Mullin taps special interests to help with campaign debt; Stitt reports reelection spending

Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin has tapped special interest groups and lobbyists to help him retire more than $1.2 million in campaign debt, according to a report filed this week that shows the new senator’s campaign account was down to $55,000.

Meanwhile, Gov. Kevin Stitt’s latest campaign filing shows he spent nearly $10.7 million on his reelection campaign and finished the year with a little more than $130,000 in his account.

Here are three things about the latest campaign finance reports filed by Oklahomans in federal and state offices:

Mullin taps PACs

Mullin, a Republican who won the race last year to succeed former Sen. Jim Inhofe, loaned his campaign $1 million in personal funds. At the end of the year, the campaign also owed about $230,000 to vendors, including media, fundraising and legal consultants.

The campaign filed a report with the Federal Election Commission this week showing several contributions earmarked for debt retirement. Among those giving the campaign money to retire debt were the political action committees of Tyson Foods; drugmaker GlaxoSmithKiline; Walmart; ExxonMobil; Comcast; natural gas distribution company OneOK; private prison company CoreCivic; and a leadership PAC associated with South Dakota Sen. John Thune.

Mullin spent about $6 million to win the seat. The plumbing company owner was elected to serve the remaining four years on Inhofe’s term, meaning he would have to run again in 2026 if he wants to keep the seat.

Mullin’s first campaign for the U.S. House, in 2012, also resulted in personal and vendor debt, which he retired with donor money.

It is legal and not uncommon to pay off personal loans with contributor cash, though the donations must comply with the contribution limits that apply to campaigns.

More:Markwayne Mullin lands spot on Armed Services Committee

Stitt loans

Stitt, the founder and CEO of a mortgage company before running for office, loaned nearly $5 million to his 2018 campaign for governor, but has not retired any of that debt. For his reelection campaign, Stitt loaned another $2 million. He has no plans to tap donors to repay any of the 2018 or 2022 debt, according to a campaign spokesperson.

The governor's campaign raised nearly $8 million from individuals and got more than $446,000 from political action committees for his reelection, which culminated in winning 74 of the state's counties. Among the PACs donating to Stitt in the last reporting period were AT&T; Boeing; Bank of Oklahoma; BNSF Railroad; Continental Resources; Homebuilders; Marathon Oil; OneOK: Phillips 66; Union Pacific; and Valero, according to the report filed this week.

The governor, who is barred by the Oklahoma Constitution from running for a third term, had $130,376 left in his campaign account at the end of December.

Hofmeister spending

In a new filing with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, Democrat Joy Hofmeister reported spending $3.4 million on her campaign against Stitt last year and having $25,165 remaining. Most of her money came from individuals; she reported about $78,000 received from political action committees and $5,620 from political parties.

The amount of money spent by Stitt and Hofmeister was eclipsed by the millions of dollars spent by dark money groups, mostly against Stitt; that money was funneled through nonprofits organized under the U.S. tax code as social welfare groups.

The Stitt campaign has estimated that $50 million in dark money was spent in Oklahoma on the 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Mullin seeks debt relief, while Stitt reports spending $11 million