With Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond running for governor, his seat will become open next year, ensuring that Oklahoma will have its fifth attorney general in five years. That’s a lot of inconsistency for the state’s highest law enforcement officer, especially for a state in love with the death penalty, the failed war on drugs and locking up as many people as possible.
But the race could also have an impact on a key environmental issue in eastern Oklahoma.
Two early candidates for the office are Jon Echols, a former state House leader, and Jeff Starling, the current state secretary of energy and environment.
Starling was appointed to the position by Gov. Kevin Stitt after he fired his previous secretary for attending a hearing over poultry pollution in eastern Oklahoma. A federal judge has ruled that Tyson Foods and other large poultry producers are to blame for polluted waterways. Drummond is currently overseeing the state’s interests in the case and has advocated for stricter pollution controls and penalties for the companies.
The case might be solved before the next attorney general comes into office, but given that the lawsuit was first filed in 2005, Oklahomans shouldn’t hold their breath.
This article appears in Best of OKC 2025.