Mike Mazzei spent millions to win Oklahoma’s gubernatorial nomination. Now questions about the financing behind his campaign have attracted bipartisan attention.
Mike Mazzei has proven that money can buy plenty of political ads, but whether it can buy the governor’s mansion remains to be seen. The Republican gubernatorial nominee poured more than $11 million of personal loans into his campaign, and extraordinary spend that helped him defeat Attorney General Gentner Drummond by just over 2,000 votes in the August Republican runoff election.
But the money behind the campaign has become a story of it’s own.
Maria Guinnipof the The Oklahoman first reported that Mazzei pledged his business assets as collateral for a loan from Regent Bank, a Tulsa institution headed by Sean Kouplen, who served alongside Mazzei in Governor Kevin Stitt’s cabinet. A January financing statement identifies Mazzei’s ownership interests in Trinity Strategic Wealth, along with certain associated financial assets, as collateral. The publicly available documents do not disclose the bank’s loan amount, the loan’s interest rate or repayment terms.
Nor do they establish how much of Regent’s money, if any, ultimately financed Mazzei’s campaign. That’s an important distinction, but it hardly maked the unanswered questions disappear.
The $11 million question
Mazzei’s campaign reported approximately $11.6 million of personal loans to his campaign by August, compared to $3 million loaned by Drummond. Those figures exclude outside contributions, although the reported number of outside contributions is a mere fraction of what Mazzei has possibly borrowed and ultimately loaned to his own campaign.
Mazzei defended his financing to Oklahoma Voice, saying, “my wife and I thought it was a good investment.” Perhaps, but investing over $10 million to secure a job paying $147,000 per year invites some obvious questions. The most interesting question involves Trinity Strategic Wealth, the financial advisory business Mazzei pledged as collateral.
Trinity operates as an independent registered investment advisory, sometimes known as an RIA. An RIA’s business is not easily valued and depends on recurring revenues, profitability and client retention. Mazzei is the majority owner of Trinity Wealth, as reported on their form ADV filing, which states he owns between 50-75 of the firm, alongside three other partners. For lenders, client contracts and regulatory restrictions can complicate their ability to sell or transfer ownership following a default on a loan with the RIA as collateral.
What valuation did Regent assign Trinity, and how much rigor was excercised in doing so? What repayment capacity did the bank establish? And how would Mazzei’s departure to become Governor affect the firm and collateral. Also, were Mazzei’s partners duly informed and in agreeement? What if they decide to leave Trinity and start their own firm, taking staff and client relationships with them?
A bipartisan concern
On October 15th, Democratic state Representative Jared Deck called for scrutiny of Mazzei’s financing, sending letters to the FDIC, Oklahoma Banking Commission and the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, while also calling for legislators to review campaign loan rules.
Republican Representative Jonathan Wilk of Goldsby has independently proposed that Ethics Commission review candidate loans or contributions exceeding $100,000. Wilk raised the issue monthe before Deck’s press conference on October 15th. His proposal has been added to the commission’s rulemaking agenda.
The concern is bipartisan: Should candidates be required to disclose more about the origins of extraordinarily large campaign loans. However, it goes farther than just this. Many political leaders and voters have expressed concerns about candidates self-funding their elections. Both Chip Keating and Jake Merrick were outspoken about this in a recent Clowns Left Jokers Right podcast, specific to Mazzei. Since then, Merrick has endorsed Mazzei and is rumored to be slated for a high level role in Mazzei’s administration.
Mazzei’s campaign rejects suggestions of an active investigation. Spokesman Jahan Wilcox told Oklahoma Watch, “The truth is there is no legislative investigation, no FDIC review or Ethics Commission probe.” While requests for regulatory review are not findings of misconduct, any request would likely take weeks or month to result in an official investigation or review to commence, so Wilcox might have jumped the gun by saying there is no review or investition. Maybe he should have added the word, “yet” to the end of his quote.
Can money buy the governor’s mansion
Mazzei spent more than $11 million to win a Republican nomination by 2,000 votes. That’s an expensive way to discover that half your own party would rather vote for somebody else.
He now faces Democrat Cyndi Munson on November 3rd. Munson is getting exceedingly close to Mazzei in the polls, and both the Democratic and Republican Governor’s Associations are putting money into their respective candidate’s races, as they see a tight race. Cook’s Political Report recently re-ranked the race “Likely Republican” from “Solid Republican,” as well, recognition of a race becoming more competitive as well.
Mazzei has demonstrated an ability to finance a campaign. Whether he can persuade voters to embrace his candidacy remains to be seen. Before Oklahoma hands him the keys to the governor’s desk, they deserve a clear understanding of the financing that paid for it.
Mike Mazzei declined to meet or discuss this issue with Oklahoma Gazette. Sean Koeplin declined to answer questions about the campaidn loan, citing privacy issues.
Sources
- The Oklahoman-Maria Guinnip, Octover 17, 2026
- Oklahoma Watch-Paul Monies, October 16, 2026
- Oklahoma Voice-August 18, 2026
- Associated Press-August 25, 2026
- Cook Political Report-October 13, 2026