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2022 Oklahoma Attorney General election

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2022 Oklahoma Attorney General election

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Nominee Gentner Drummond Lynda Steele
Party Republican Libertarian
Popular vote 792,466 281,923
Percentage 73.76% 26.24%

Drummond:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Steele:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      50%      No votes

Attorney General before election

John O'Connor
Republican

Elected Attorney General

Gentner Drummond
Republican

The 2022 Oklahoma Attorney General election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next attorney general of Oklahoma. The primary election was scheduled for Tuesday, June 28, 2022.[1] The candidate filing deadline was April 15, 2022.[2]

Appointed incumbent Republican Attorney General John O'Connor sought election to a full term, but lost his party's nomination to Gentner Drummond. No Democratic candidates filed to run for the position. Lynda Steele was the Libertarian nominee. Drummond won the November general election.[3]

Republican primary

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John M. O'Connor was the incumbent attorney general after being appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt.[4] The seat had been vacated after Michael J. Hunter resigned due to an infidelity scandal.[5] Gentner Drummond, who had narrowly lost to Hunter in 2018, challenged O'Connor in the Republican primary. Drummond campaigned as being independent of Governor Stitt.[6] The aftermath of McGirt v. Oklahoma was a dominant issue in the campaign.[7] O'Connor argued that litigation to overturn or winnow the ruling in McGirt was warranted, whereas Drummond advocated compacting and negotiating with tribal nations. The candidates also differed in their opinions on whether Congress should disestablish certain reservations at issue, with Drummond opposing such action). During the June 16 Republican primary debate, O'Connor called Drummond a "Democrat in Republican clothing."[8] O'Connor ran ads attacking Drummond for a donation of $1,000 by Drummond to the Joe Biden Presidential campaign in 2020 as well as Drummond's history of giving to Democratic candidates. Drummond claimed that the donation to Biden's campaign was made by his wife and provided receipts showing the donation was later refunded. The Tulsa World reported that Drummond's last donation to a non-Republican candidate for federal office was to Matt Silverstein's 2014 United States Senate campaign.[9] In the final month of the primary, over $1 million in dark money was spent on ads opposing O'Connor's candidacy.[10] Drummond defeated O'Connor in the primary with 50.9% of the vote.[11]

Candidates

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Nominee

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Eliminated in primary

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Endorsements

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John O'Connor
U.S. House Representatives
Statewide officials
  • Ben Robinson, former Oklahoma Secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs[15]
  • Kevin Stitt, Governor of Oklahoma (2019–present)[16]
County officials
Individuals
Newspapers
Organizations
Gentner Drummond
City officials
Newspapers
Organizations

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Gentner
Drummond
John M.
O'Connor
Other Undecided
SoonerPoll June 13–21, 2022 350 (LV) ± 5.2% 47% 18% 35%
Amber Integrated (R) June 6–9, 2022 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 41% 28% 30%
SoonerPoll April 25 – May 11, 2022 306 (LV) ± 5.6% 41% 23% 36%
Amber Integrated (R) March 24–27, 2022 455 (LV) ± 4.6% 37% 16% 47%
Amber Integrated (R) December 15–19, 2021 253 (RV) ± 6.2% 16% 24% 4% 56%
Amber Integrated (R) September 29 – October 3, 2021 253 (RV) ± 6.2% 16% 33% 8% 43%

Debate

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2022 Republican primary debates
No. Date Host Moderator Link Participants
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Non-invitee   I  Invitee  W  Withdrawn
Gentner
Drummond
John
O'Connor
1 June 16, 2022 Nondoc/New 9/The Frontier Tres Savage & Storme Jones Debate I I

Results

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Results by county
  Drummond
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  O'Connor
  •   50–60%
Republican primary results[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Gentner Drummond 180,338 50.9
Republican John O'Connor (incumbent) 174,125 49.1
Total votes 354,463 100.00

General election

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Candidates

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[29] Safe R September 14, 2022
Elections Daily[30] Safe R November 1, 2022

Endorsements

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Gentner Drummond (R)
City officials
Newspapers
Organizations

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Gentner
Drummond
Lynda
Steele
Undecided
–(L)[A] September 15–18, 2022 2,989 (LV) ± 3.2% 52% 27% 21%

Results

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2022 Oklahoma Attorney General election[31][32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Gentner Drummond 792,466 73.76% +9.7%
Libertarian Lynda Steele 281,923 26.24% N/A
Total votes 1,074,389 100.00%
Turnout 1,074,389 46.80%
Registered electors 2,295,906
Republican hold

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
Partisan clients
  1. ^ This poll was conducted in-house by and for Bruno's campaign

References

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  1. ^ "2022 Oklahoma Elections-Voter Information Calendar" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "2022 Statutory Election Dates and Deadlines" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  3. ^ Overall, Michael (November 8, 2022). "Pinnell leads GOP wave on down-ballot races". Tulsa World. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Krehbiel, Randy (July 24, 2021). "Tulsan John O'Connor named attorney general". Tulsa World. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "Mike Hunter resigning as Oklahoma Attorney General". Oklahoma Eagle. May 29, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Felder, Ben (April 17, 2022). "Gentner Drummond to face John O'Connor in Oklahoma Republican AG primary". The Oklahoman. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  7. ^ Beaudoin, D (June 24, 2022). "Incumbent O'Connor faces challenger Drummond in Republican primary for Oklahoma attorney general". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  8. ^ Patterson, Matt (June 17, 2022). "Oklahoma AG candidates brawl in heated debate". Non Doc. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Krehbiel, Randy (May 14, 2022). "Oklahoma AG Candidates On Spotlight on Refunded Biden Donation Draws Ad Firing Back". Tulsa World. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Monies, Paul (July 3, 2022). "Oklahoma Watch: In many Oklahoma races, outside groups are outspending candidates". Talequah Daily Press. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  11. ^ Savage, Tres (June 28, 2022). "Gentner Drummond ousts John O'Connor in attorney general primary". NonDoc. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  12. ^ Schaefer, Ralph (March 14, 2013). "Renaissance man: A Tulsa lawyer, entrepreneur recounts his varied career". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Felder, Ben. "Gentner Drummond returns to AG race to face John O'Connor in Oklahoma Republican primary". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Krehbiel, Randy (June 19, 2022). "Politcal [sic] notebook: Non-partisan primary push starts in Oklahoma". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Faught, Jamison (June 23, 2022). "O'Connor endorsed by retired Air Force Brig. General, and by Garfield County Sheriff". Muskogee Politico. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  16. ^ Jeanne, Kat (June 10, 2022). "Drummond discusses AG issues during Enid visit". Enid News and Eagle. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  17. ^ Martin, Stacy (June 22, 2022). "Jackson Lahmeyer gains endorsement and gives one – and he shows well in polling". The Oklahoma City Sentinel. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  18. ^ Sentinel, Cory Charlston, Co-Publisher The Oklahoma City. "Personal Endorsement of John O'Connor for Attorney General 2022". Oklahoma City Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Editorial: Tulsa Beacon endorsements". Tulsa Beacon. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  20. ^ "The Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) announced its endorsement of John O'Connor for Oklahoma Attorney General". American Conservative Union. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  21. ^ a b c Faught, Jamison (May 31, 2022). "OK Farm Bureau, Cattlemen's Association, AFR endorse O'Connor for AG". Muskogee Politico. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  22. ^ "OK2A Endorsements for Mid-Term Elections-June 2022". Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association. May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  23. ^ "OKHPR's First Endorsement of 2022!". OKHPR. April 21, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  24. ^ "SBA List's Candidate Fund PAC Endorses John O'Connor for Oklahoma AG". Susan B. Anthony List. January 21, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  25. ^ a b c d Krehbiel, Randy (April 1, 2022). "Political notebook: Sgt. Craig Johnson Act becomes law". Tulsa World. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Endorsement: Political outsider Gentner Drummond best choice for attorney general". Tulsa World. June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  27. ^ a b Krehbiel, Randy (May 10, 2022). "Political notebook: State's tax revenue continues sharp upward turn". Tulsa World. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  28. ^ "Statewide - 2022 Primary Election Results". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  29. ^ "The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape". Sabato's Crystal Ball. September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  30. ^ Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  31. ^ "November 8 2022 Oklahoma Official results". results.okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  32. ^ "Current Registration Statistics by County" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. November 1, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
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Official campaign websites