Former state Sen. Mike Mazzei won the Republican runoff for Oklahoma governor on Tuesday, defeating state Attorney General Gentner Drummond. With 99% of the votes counted, Mazzei held 50.3% of the vote to Drummond’s 49.7%, a margin of approximately 2,000 votes.
The runoff followed a June 16 primary where no candidate reached a majority. In that initial round, Drummond led Mazzei by 0.3 percentage points. The contest for the Republican nomination was marked by high levels of spending, including significant personal loans from both candidates and millions of dollars in television advertising from outside organizations.
Mazzei, who served in the Oklahoma Senate for 12 years and as state budget secretary in 2019, received an endorsement from President Donald Trump in May. He was also supported by current Gov. Kevin Stitt and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Drummond, the state’s attorney general, had previously outpaced Mazzei in the first round of voting before falling short in the Tuesday runoff.
For the 371,309 Republicans who cast ballots in this runoff, the narrow result—separated by just 2,047 votes—shows the impact of individual participation in a state of nearly 4 million people. Voters in the general election will now choose between Mazzei and Democratic state Rep. Cyndi Munson. The winner will manage the state's executive branch, including the state budget, which Mazzei previously oversaw as secretary.
The result also serves as a measure of President Trump’s influence on state-level races following a series of losses for his preferred gubernatorial candidates in Wyoming, Iowa, Georgia, Minnesota, and South Carolina. In the upcoming general election, Mazzei is considered the favorite in a state that Trump won by 34 points in 2024. The general election will take place in November, though the source does not specify the exact date. Mazzei will face Munson to decide who succeeds Gov. Kevin Stitt.