Tuesday's ballots include partisan contests, school and municipal questions
Oklahoma voters will pick nominees for U.S. Senate races and several statewide offices on Tuesday, while some will also choose between candidates in legislative and county races and decide local school district and municipal questions.
Oklahoma County has Republican and Democratic races for county commissioner posts and a GOP race to nominate a candidate to replace longtime District Attorney David Prater.
Polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. Early in-person voting ran from Thursday morning to Saturday afternoon. Absentee ballots must be received at county election boards by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Only Republicans can vote in that party’s primaries, while Democrats allow independents to vote in their contests. Voters of any party affiliation and those registered as independents can vote on school district and municipal issues.
The marquee runoff was expected to be the Republican contest between U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin and Oklahoma City bank executive T.W. Shannon for the nomination to replace U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe. But that race failed to materialize, as Mullin drew an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, followed by a major boost to the financial advantage he already held.
A poll released on Tuesday by Amber Integrated, of Oklahoma City, showed Mullin with a 19-point lead among Republicans who said they were likely to vote in the runoff, though a News9 poll released Friday showed Mullin with a 10-point lead among likely GOP voters.
The Republican race to replace Mullin in Congress, in a district comprising a huge swath of eastern Oklahoma, has been a much hotter one, with state Rep. Avery Frix, of Muskogee, squaring off with former state Sen. Josh Brecheen, of Coalgate. Mullin has held the 2nd Congressional District seat since 2013.
Democrats statewide will decide whether to nominate attorney Jason Bollinger or cybersecurity expert Madison Horn, both of Oklahoma City, to take on Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford this fall. Bollinger and Horn are making their first political runs.
Republicans have four contests for statewide offices, with three involving open seats.
In the race to replace Treasurer Randy McDaniel, a Republican, state Rep. Todd Russ is battling former state Sen.Clark Jolley. The Amber Integrated poll last week showed a close race.
State Sen. Kim David and former state Rep. Todd Thomsen are vying in the GOP runoff for the open seat on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. And in the race to replace state School Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, Shawnee School Superintendent April Grace is running against Ryan Walters, who is Gov. Kevin Stitt’s education secretary.
Stitt has endorsed Walters in that race and has also endorsed state Rep. Sean Roberts in his race against Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn, who is seeking a second term.
Some voters will pick nominees in state legislative seats redrawn last year to reflect the 2020 population count.
The Republican runoff on Tuesday will decide the next state representative in a district drawn to include parts of Choctaw, Edmond, Harrah, Jones, Luther, Norman and Oklahoma City. The race for the House District 36 seat drew only Republicans. John George, of Newalla, the former president of Oklahoma City’s Fraternal Order of Police, is squaring off against Harrah business owner Anita Raglin.
Oklahoma County Democrats will choose between two familiar names in local politics for the District 1 commissioner nomination. Incumbent Carrie Blumert, first elected in 2018, is facing longtime state legislator Anastasia Pittman. Pittman was the top vote-getter among four candidates in the June 28 primary.
Current District 3 Commissioner Kevin Calvey is in the Republican runoff to replace Prater, a Democrat who has been the district attorney since 2007. Calvey fell less than 20 votes short of winning the nomination outright in the June 28 primary over assistant district attorney Gayland Gieger. The winner will face Democrat Vicki Behenna in the Nov. 8 general election.
Two Republicans hoping to replace Calvey as commissioner are vying in Tuesday’s runoff. Myles Davidson, Calvey’s chief deputy, will face Amy Alexander, an aide to District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan. The nominee will face Democrat Cathy Cummings in the general election.
There are no statewide ballot questions, but residents in several cities will decide school bond issues and municipal propositions. In Norman, where politics in the state’s third-largest city have been roiled in recent years by police funding disputes and other controversies, voters will determine the fate of nine proposed city charter changes. Among them are a proposal regarding the recall of the mayor and city council members and another to allow the council to raise water, sewer and trash rates by up to 3%, an action that currently requires a vote of city residents.
Tulsa is voting on city council members and three proposed charter amendments.
Turnout for runoffs typically drops substantially from the first round of primaries, suggesting that a small portion of voters will be deciding the races and ballot questions on Tuesday. In the primaries on June 28, less than one-third of registered Republicans voted in the gubernatorial race and only about 24% of Democrats voted in their party’s gubernatorial primary.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma voters to decide nominations, school and municipal issues
