Trump-backed businessman and former Oklahoma state Sen. Mike Mazzei narrowly won the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday, defeating state Attorney General Gentner Drummond in a closely contested runoff that spotlighted President Donald Trump’s influence over the state’s GOP electorate.
Mazzei won by some 2,000 votes, with the former state senator getting just over 50% of the vote. Drummond conceded, with the race still extremely close, opening the path for Mazzei to advance as the Republicans’ candidate in the general election Nov. 3.
The result closes a divisive Republican primary for an open governor’s seat. Mike Mazzei, 61, is the founder of an investment management firm and a 12-year veteran of the Oklahoma State Senate. Incumbent Gov. Kevin Stitt is term-limited and can’t run for a third term in office, making the Republican nomination all the more important in a state where the GOP has dominated statewide elections for years.
Mazzei will face off against Democratic nominee Cyndi Munson in November. Munson, the Oklahoma House minority leader, was the Democratic nominee earlier in the election cycle. Other independent candidates are also expected to be on the general election ballot.
In the closing stages of the campaign the president came out in support of Mazzei and repeatedly attacked Drummond. Trump blasted the attorney general on social media and, shortly before the runoff, urged Oklahoma Republicans to vote against him. During a Monday night conference call with Republican voters, Trump said that Drummond did not speak for the values of Oklahoma and warned voters not to support him.
Trump’s endorsement was significant because he had become a dominant force in Republican primary races nationwide. The Oklahoma race was a particularly clear test of whether his support could influence voters in a contest between two established Republican candidates. It was a costly campaign. Figures cited by the Associated Press show more than $14 million was spent on advertising during the runoff, with spending in the broader governor’s race approaching $40 million.
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Mazzei brought a wealth of experience with Oklahoma politics and state government to the race. Mike Mazzei served in the Oklahoma Senate from 2004 to 2016 before becoming Stitt’s secretary of budget. He also had a career in financial services in Tulsa.
One of the most contentious issues was a proposed aluminum smelter at Inola, Okla. Trump has heavily promoted the project as an investment in American manufacturing and national security. Drummond fought the project in court. Mike Mazzei supported development. Even as he challenged the project, Drummond found a moment to praise Trump, who swept Oklahoma in all three of his presidential races by more than 65% of the vote, losing not a single county in any of them.
Oklahoma Republicans should pick their next governor based on state issues and not on national political alliances, Drummond said. He also sought to separate himself from Mike Mazzei by emphasizing his record as attorney general and his conservative credentials. Oklahoma has become one of the most reliably Republican states in the country. Trump carried the state by a wide margin in the 2024 presidential election, and Republicans have controlled the governor’s mansion for nearly two decades.
If Mike Mazzei is to have any hope of beating a fellow Republican in the general election, the task now turns to immediately cobbling together a broader coalition. His campaign will need to extend beyond the voters who backed him in the runoff while defending the positions that earned him Trump’s endorsement.
The win also expands Trump’s political footprint in Oklahoma. Mazzei got the president’s support after hiring a consulting firm run by Roger Stone, a longtime Trump friend and adviser. That slim margin belied the fact Trump’s preferred candidate came out of one of the state’s most competitive Republican contests to fly the GOP flag into November.
Republican nominee Mike Mazzei is one election away from succeeding Stitt and taking control of the governor’s office. Tuesday night’s narrow Republican win in November’s contest against Munson will determine if it is the first step toward another GOP term in Oklahoma’s highest state office.