Special thanks to President Donald J. Trump for recently sending J. Kevin Stitt back from D.C. with his tail between his legs. By refusing to endorse Stitt for the upcoming Senate election to replace MarkWayne Mullin, in favor of Representative Kevin Hern, Trump may have finally done what Oklahoma’s Republican legislators, donor class and establishment media have refused to do: end Kevin Stitt’s political career.
After nearly eight years of chaos, controversy, self-promotion and failure masquerading as “outsider leadership,” Oklahoma is left to clean up the Stitt Show mess and being “Top 10” in all the wrong places. Meanwhile, Oklahoma families struggle with bottom-tier outcomes in education, healthcare access, mental health services, teacher retention and infrastructure.
Beyond blessing our state with Ryan Walters and numerous other embarrassments, Stitt’s legacy will be one of endless culture war distractions and core state functions deteriorating in plain sight.
After a semi-successful first term, which felt like Camelot for rednecks at the Capitol for a while, the second term turned into one of cronyism, scandal, dysfunction and overall fatigue. The Stitt administration became less about reform and more about survival, with cabinet members resigning under clouds of controversy and agency heads becoming punchlines for local news and social media. Public trust has eroded to epic lows in light of the latest Invest in Oklahoma allegations and Sara Polston’s 73-day stay toward what was to be an eight-year sentence for nearly killing an innocent young woman in a horrific drunk driving incident.
What major achievements do we have to show for the last eight years of Stitt? Educational reform has turned into continued decline, healthcare’s turnaround is just more of the same and Oklahoma’s vibrant economy is almost entirely due to our major cities (OKC and Tulsa) that ARE NOT RUN BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT! Everything Stitt-related seems to be an EPIC fail, which happens to remind everyone of another great scandal from Stitt’s last term.
But like every political machine, Stitt is attempting one final act: preserving power through political proxies, in what seems like an act of future self-preservation more than anything. The “Stittosphere” is a network of former appointees, loyalists, enablers and donors now being inserted into statewide races, many at Stitt’s direction, while attempting to distance themselves from the administration they all helped to create. Perhaps most importantly, many of these same legislators who protected and empowered the dysfunction, led by former House Speaker Charles McCall, are also clamoring for another roll of the dice.
Oklahoma Republicans should ask themselves a simple question: If the Stitt Show was such a success, why are so many former insiders trying to hide from it? Voters aren’t dumb and will answer the bell on June 16 to get rid of an exhausted political brand long after public confidence has collapsed. This is why Gentner Drummond stands apart. Unlike the other three leading candidates all directly emerging from the governor’s orbit, Drummond is not a product of the Stitt regime. Instead, he has been the only Republican tying to hold it in check. Whether challenging Stitt scandals, standing up to extremism, protecting Oklahoma taxpayers or defending the rule of law, Drummond repeatedly has been willing to act independently—even when politically inconvenient.
The cartoon version of the Stitt administration may be funny, but the real-world consequences have not been anything to laugh about. As Oklahoma approaches another major election cycle, voters should remember one thing: This show must not go on.
Drew Williamson is a Partner with Red Center Media-Oklahoma Gazette and served as Trustee of Teachers Retirement System-Oklahoma from 2019-2023.
This article appears in deadCENTER Film Festival returns.