Trump-backed Mike Mazzei wins Oklahoma GOP gubernatorial runoff

His defeat of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on Tuesday is a victory for Republican leaders in the state and Trump, who had endured a recent string of uncharacteristic primary losses, particularly in gubernatorial primaries.

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The president’s preferred picks for governor in Wyoming, Iowa, Georgia, Minnesota and South Carolina all lost their races, and a trio of Trump-backed House candidates fell in Michigan and Florida earlier this month.

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The president’s preferred picks for governor in Wyoming, Iowa, Georgia, Minnesota and South Carolina all lost their races, and a trio of Trump-backed House candidates fell in Michigan and Florida earlier this month.

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And the race was defined by massive levels of self-funding in a historically expensive primary for the state.

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But Mazzei was also aided by outside money: The conservative group Club For Growth spent $8 million on TV ads boosting Mazzei and attacking Drummond, per the tracking firm AdImpact.

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Ahead of the runoff, the state senator earned endorsements from Gov. Kevin Stitt and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who represented Oklahoma in Congress for 13 years.

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Mazzei served in the state senate for 12 years before being term-limited in 2016.

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Mazzei’s victory notches another win for President Donald Trump’s endorsement power, as Mazzei joins Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) as the latest Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate to win their primary in a midterm election season that has shown mixed results for the president’s endorsement in gubernatorial races.

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Mazzei’s victory notches another win for President Donald Trump’s endorsement power, as Mazzei joins Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) as the latest Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate to win their primary in a midterm election season that has shown mixed results for the president’s endorsement in gubernatorial races.

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The flash point of the race centered on Drummond distancing himself from Trump’s tariff agenda, while Mazzei tied himself to the president’s endorsement as the two candidates polled neck and neck in the limited runoff surveys.

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Each of the Republicans ran on lowering the cost of living, in line with the GOP’s affordability messaging sweeping through the midterm elections, as they both advocated slashing property taxes and reining in government spending to cut costs for Oklahomans.

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Mazzei, on the other hand, touted his endorsements from Trump, the Oklahoma GOP, and term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) as he aimed to compete with the statewide name recognition Drummond had as attorney general.

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After his top priority of lowering the cost of living, Drummond ran on his public safety record as attorney general, seeking to bring more enforcement against drug trafficking and cartel crime while strengthening local law enforcement.

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Mazzei campaigned on priorities like eliminating the state’s property tax for veterans and seniors, curbing foreign land ownership in the state, education reform, opposing abortion, and cutting regulations facing small-business owners.

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The Cook Political Report considers the governor race “solid Republican” in the state Trump won by an over 34-percentage-point margin in 2024.

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He also campaigned on spurring state economic growth, fixing rural infrastructure, and expanding affordable healthcare access across the state.

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Since no candidate in the crowded field secured a majority, the race went to a runoff.

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In the weeks leading up to the runoff, Drummond outraised and outspent Mazzei, with his campaign reporting last week that he brought in $2.3 million between the mid-June primary and Tuesday’s runoff.

Mazzei, in the same time period, raised $816,000.

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Drummond also drew the president’s ire for suing to block the construction of the largest aluminum smelter in the country in Inola, Oklahoma, citing environmental and public health concerns.

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Five gubernatorial candidates he has backed this year failed to win their primaries.

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While Trump’s endorsement remains the most coveted in GOP politics, he has had some stumbles, particularly in governor’s races.

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The smelter, backed by investments from a United Arab Emirates company, split the Republican field.

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Mr. Trump championed the project.

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Many Oklahomans opposed the project, citing its foreign ownership and its demands on the state’s power grid.

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Mr. Trump recorded a video supporting Mr. Mazzei during the runoff, calling Mr. Drummond a “fake Republican.”

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Mr. Drummond was attacked as a “Trump hater,” and Mr. Mazzei was accused of hypocrisy for opposing foreign ownership of Oklahoma land while backing the Emirati-financed smelter.

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Both men were battered by negative ads and mailers.

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Mr. Drummond was attacked as a “Trump hater,” and Mr. Mazzei was accused of hypocrisy for opposing foreign ownership of Oklahoma land while backing the Emirati-financed smelter.

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He raised significantly less from individual contributors, about $1.4 million.

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For much of the race, Mr. Mazzei, who is the head of a financial planning firm, funded his campaign himself, loaning it more than $11 million, according to campaign filings this month.

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The Tulsa financial planner beat Attorney General Gentner Drummond on Tuesday night by about 2,000 votes in a race that drew about 371,000 voters.

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A proposed Inola smelter, backed by Trump, became a pivotal issue in the campaign.

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Mazzei will face Democrat Cyndi Munson, who serves as state House minority leader, and three independents in the Nov. 3 general election.

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Mazzei initially opposed it and then changed his position hours before obtaining the Trump endorsement. Drummond opposed it.

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Drummond and Mazzei were the top vote getters in a nine-way June 16 primary that also featured businessman Chip Keating and former House Speaker Charles McCall.

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Drummond jumped out early as a gubernatorial candidate.

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His win is also a political victory for outgoing Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has opposed Drummond for years.

Stitt and Drummond have sparred over lawsuits, pointed letters and public criticisms.

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The feud between them centers on Drummond’s attacks on Oklahoma poultry companies for what he sees as decades of phosphorus pollution in water supplies.

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His exit prompted a crowded field of hopefuls to replace him, but after an initial primary on June 2, no candidate secured the 50% support needed to lock up the nomination outright.

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The Club for Growth, a pro-small-government group that advocates for lower taxes and free-market principles and contributed $9 million in support of Mazzei, praised his win.

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In addition to tax reforms, Mazzei highlighted preventing foreign nationals from buying up state land, bolstering the Oklahoma education system and government spending accountability.

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On his website, he touted having confronted Chinese criminal operations growing illegal marijuana farms, shutting down thousands of their illegal grow operations and enforcing immigration law.

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The general election is set for Nov. 3.

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The 10-week runoff campaign spawned more than $14 million in television and digital advertising, most of it from independent groups, and much of it negative, according to the ad-track service AdImpact.

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That's on top of the nearly $40 million spent in the governor's race ahead of the runoff.

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However, Drummond told his supporters that while he conceded the race, "We do not surrender our convictions."

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A Democrat hasn't won the governor's race since 2006.

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The GOP nominee is the 61-year-old founder of an investment management firm and served 12 years in the state Senate.

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Trump criticized Drummond for saying in a 2024 congressional hearing in response to a Democrat's questions that he had no opinion on Trump's 2021 impeachment after the Jan. 6 insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

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While Drummond raised about $4.8 million more in cash contributions, Mazzei has funded his campaign largely through personal loans of at least $11.9 million.

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Drummond has suggested that Mazzei received Trump's endorsement for hiring a consulting firm operated by longtime Trump friend and adviser Roger Stone, with Mazzei's campaign and paying it $67,500, according to campaign finance records.

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