Last Updated on August 22, 2022, 12:46 PM | Published: July 20, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — (Updated) Oklahoma County voters will head to the polls again for the Aug. 23 runoff election to determine which candidates in several key races will advance to the November general election.
The runoff election will decide the Republican and Democratic nominees for several federal, statewide, and local offices after candidates failed to secure a majority vote to win outright in the June primary.
Oklahoma County Republicans will see more voting options on their ballots to determine their party’s nomination for the U.S. Senator, District Attorney, and four House districts. Some statewide and local races will be decided in GOP runoffs as well, including state treasurer and county commissioner. Democrats in Oklahoma County will vote on a Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat and a local race for county commissioner.
Here’s a guide on which races will be on the ballot:
Republican party runoff and special elections
US Senator
Mullin and Shannon garnered the most votes out of the crowded field of 13 Republican candidates vying to fill Sen. James Inhofe after announcing his resignation. Mullin, a fifth-term congressman for Oklahoma’s 2nd congressional district, took the lead in the hotly contested race with 43.62% of the vote. Mullin has the endorsement of Former President Donald Trump in the runoff for the Republican nomination.
Shannon, former speaker of the Oklahoma House, followed behind with 17.51% of the vote. The winner of the GOP runoff will face Kendra Horn, former congresswomen for Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district, in November for the unexpired term.
District Attorney
Kevin Calvey and Gayland Gieger will head to the runoffs after a manual recount revealed that Calvey, with 49.97% of the vote, remained just a few votes short of securing a win in the Republican primary race for District Attorney. Gieger came in second with 23.25% of the vote. The winner will face the Democratic nominee, Vicki Behenna in the November general election.
State Senate District 28
Out of the field of four candidates, Grant Green and Jeff McCommas will compete in the GOP runoffs to represent the northeastern metro State Senate District 28. Senate District 28 covers all of Seminole and Lincoln counties and includes parts of Oklahoma, Pottawatomie and Logan counties. The winner will face the Democratic nominee Karen Rackley in November.
House District 31
Combat veteran Collin Duel and native Oklahoman Karmin Grider will be on the GOP ballot in a district that runs along the northern border of Oklahoma County which includes the cities of Guthrie, Edmond, Cimarron City, Cashion, and Cedar Valley. The winner of the runoff will represent HD 31.
House District 36 – update
John George, a former Fraternal Order of Police president, and local businesswoman Anita Raglin will compete in the GOP runoff to determine who will be the first to represent the newly-located House District 36. George, who recently scored an endorsement from Gov. Kevin Stitt, received 40.9% of the GOP vote, while Raglin followed close behind with 33.4%.
Before redistricting, the HD 36 covered parts of Osage and Tulsa County. Now, the district will encompass eastern Oklahoma county and the northeastern corner of Cleveland county.
The winner of the runoff election will be the first to represent the newly drawn district.
House District 87
Scott Esk, a self-employed courier, will face local businesswoman Gloria Banister in the runoff for the House District 87 seat which contains northwest Oklahoma City and Warr Acres. The winner of the race will go up against the Democratic opponent Ellyn Hefner.
Esk, who describes himself as a Christian first and constitutionalist second, has raised some eyebrows recently for his extreme views on homosexuality. Esk made comments on a Facebook post in 2014 stating that homosexuality should be punishable by death. The comments have since been removed or deleted from the original post.
Other Races
State Treasurer: Todd Ross vs. Clark Jolley
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Ryan Walters vs. April Grace
Commissioner of Labor: Leslie Kathryn Orborn vs. Sean Roberts
Corporate Commissioner: Kim David vs. Todd Thomsen
County Commissioner, District 3: Myles Davidson vs. Amy Alexander
Democratic Party runoffs
Congress
In the Democratic runoffs, Madison Horn and Jason Bollinger will challenge each other for the second US Senate seat held by Republican James Lankford, who is running to retain his seat. Horn, a global cybersecurity leader, received 37.19% of the vote in the Democratic primary. Bollinger, a practicing attorney and native Oklahoman, finished second with 16.77% of the vote.
The winner will face Lankford, who won the Republican primary outright with 67.83% of the vote.
Oklahoma County Commissioner District 1
Former House member Anastasia Pittman will run against incumbent Carrie Blumert to serve as County commissioner in the mostly northeastern commissioner district of Oklahoma County that includes Midwest City, Del City, Jones, Spencer, The Village, Nicoma Park, Forest Park, and Lake Aluma. Pittman secured 38.64% of the vote in the Democratic primary and Blumert followed close behind with 35.71% of the vote.
Voting Information
The polls for the runoff and special elections will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 23. The last day to register to vote is July 29, 2022. Early voting will be held August 18 through August 20. Voters can check registration status, voting location and view a sample ballot on the OK Voter Portal website.
Brianna Garcia is a freelance journalist covering local politics and culture for Free Press. She has a degree in Journalism from the University of Central Oklahoma.
