NBC News projects that State Attorney General Gentner Drummond and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei will advance to a runoff for the Republican nomination for governor of Oklahoma. Neither candidate achieved a majority in the primary.
Drummond and Mazzei emerged as the top two candidates in a field of nine. Both secured approximately a quarter of the votes. Drummond has previously won statewide office. Mazzei received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump on Truth Social shortly before the primary.
Trump stated, “It is my great Honor to endorse MAGA Warrior, Mike Mazzei, who is running for Governor of Oklahoma, a state which I love.”
Current Governor Kevin Stitt cannot seek re-election due to term limits. He was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
Mazzei’s campaign is largely self-funded. He has invested nearly $7 million of his own money, contributing to a total of over $11 million raised. Drummond started his campaign with a $2 million loan in April, followed by an additional $500,000 in May. His fundraising includes more than $340,000 from individual donors and $12,000 from political action committees.
All Republican candidates in the primary have collectively contributed or loaned over $22 million, as reported by Oklahoma Voice.
Before running for governor, Mazzei served in the state Senate and worked as a financial planner. His campaign goals include eliminating state income taxes, enhancing property tax relief for seniors and veterans, and initiating a literacy program.
Drummond, an attorney and rancher from Hominy, recently challenged a proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter project, highlighting potential environmental impacts. He has opposed certain party efforts to bring religion into schools. Drummond, also an Air Force veteran and banker, has criticized Stitt’s interactions with Indigenous tribes in the state.
Oklahoma has consistently voted Republican in recent elections. Trump has won every county in the state three times, and the GOP has secured it in every presidential contest since 1968.