RismadarVoice Reporters, August 26, 2026
Former Oklahoma State senator Mike Mazzei has won the Republican nomination for governor of Oklahoma, narrowly defeating state Attorney General Gentner Drummond in Tuesday’s primary runoff.
NBC News projected Mazzei the winner by roughly 2,000 votes, securing a major victory for President Donald Trump, who strongly backed him throughout the race.
The June Republican primary was also closely fought, with Drummond finishing about 1,000 votes ahead of Mazzei. Because neither candidate won a majority, the contest proceeded to a runoff.
Trump endorsed Mazzei in May and repeatedly urged Oklahoma Republicans to support him. He also attacked Drummond over several policy disagreements, including the attorney general’s legal challenge to a major proposed aluminium plant in Inola, Oklahoma.
Mazzei supports construction of the plant, while Drummond has opposed it on environmental and public-health grounds.
Drummond also broke with Trump over the president’s decision to waive tariffs on some beef imports to help reduce U.S. beef prices. Drummond argued that cheaper imports could hurt Oklahoma’s cattlemen, ranchers and farmers.
The financial contest was less favourable to Mazzei. Drummond reported raising $2.3 million between the June primary and Tuesday’s runoff, compared with $816,000 raised by Mazzei. Both candidates, however, contributed heavily to their own campaigns, with Mazzei loaning his campaign about $11 million and Drummond about $3 million.
Mazzei will now face Democratic state Rep. Cyndi Munson in November’s general election.
Oklahoma is among the most reliably Republican states in the US, making Mazzei the strong favourite to become the state’s next governor. His victory also gives Trump another prominent Republican nominee aligned with his political agenda, although several Trump-backed gubernatorial candidates have failed to win their primaries this year.
