Is Ryan Walters running for governor? This website says so, but it's not his
The appearance of what looked like a campaign website Thursday encouraged the notion that state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters was starting a bid to become governor three years before the 2026 election.
"Launching Soon," was the big headline on the site. "Ryan Walters for Oklahoma Governor."
The site included a closeup photo of some Capitol-looking stone columns and a countdown clock ending in October.
"This is not from us," was the immediate response from Matt Langston, Walters spokesperson and close adviser.
The fact that Gov. Kevin Stitt can't run for reelection again in 2026, because of term limits, invites speculation about who might be interested in succeeding him. A number of elected Republican officials in addition to Walters might be considered logical possibilities, including the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the state auditor, labor commissioner, members of Congress and others.
However, none of them have been more focused on keeping himself in the public eye than Walters. He has maintained a steady stream of videos featuring himself and has expressed strong and controversial viewpoints and unsupported allegations about the "terrorist" teachers' union, schools accepting Chinese funding, "indoctrination of students," the teaching of "demented ideologies," and sexually explicit and inappropriate LGBTQ+ books in school libraries.
Ryan Walters facing criticism over resharing video linked to bomb threats, prompting demands for impeachment from legislators
The day after a state school board meeting in which he expressed satisfaction with the resignation of the Tulsa schools superintendent he had called for, Walters distributed a self-congratulatory video saying: "The strong action taken by me and the State Board of Education serves notice that we mean business."
Earlier in the week, a Tulsa elementary school received bomb threats after Walters retweeted an altered version of a school librarian's TikTok video.
More: Criticism for Ryan Walters intensifies after 3 days of bomb threats at school in retweeted video
The threats prompted Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, to call upon legislative leaders to initiate impeachment proceedings against Walters.
Due to Ryan Walters' persistent weaponization of his office, three bomb threats have been made against an Elementary school, putting innocent lives at risk. I call upon @SpeakerMcCall and @Sen_GregTreat to immediately start the impeachment process and let us vote to remove…
— Rep. Mickey Dollens (@MickeyDollens) August 24, 2023
Dollens said Walters' "persistent weaponization" of his office was "putting innocent lives at risk."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Ryan Walters for Governor' website not real, superintendent says
