Republicans won Oklahoma County races for sheriff, most competitive state legislative seats and even the presidential race, although by a shrinking margin, which provided a sliver of hope for Democrats in the state’s most populous county.
Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson, a Republican, won reelection with 58 percent of the vote. He beat Democratic challenger and former police officer Wayland Cubit.
Johnson and Cubit faced off in the sheriff’s race four years ago, which Johnson won then with close to 53 percent of the vote. After enlarging his margin this year, Johnson said the voters showed faith in his effort to increase mental health support, issue body cameras for all deputies and reduce administrative spending.
“(Voters) rallied around me as sheriff … and said, ‘We got you,’” Johnson said.
Cubit indicated his second attempt at sheriff would likely be his last. But he vowed to continue working to reform the county jail and improve trust between law enforcement and the public.
“Tonight’s results may close this chapter, but the work to improve public safety and serve our community continues,” Cubit said. “I encourage Sheriff Johnson and all of us in leadership to stay focused on the critical issues we raised during this campaign.”
Edmond’s State Senate District 47 was another race Democrats hoped to flip. With Republican Senate leader Greg Treat termed out, Democrat Erin Brewer ran on a campaign to improve education and serve as a check against State Superintendent Ryan Walters.
But Republican Kelly Hines, a retired U.S. Army colonel, won the seat with nearly 53 percent of the vote.
“This was a true team effort, and I will strive to be worthy of everyone’s trust and do my best to represent SD 47,” Hines said.
Republicans won two other close state legislative races, although Democrats were able to show some possible momentum headed into 2026.
In House District 95, which includes neighborhoods around Tinker Air Force Base, incumbent Rep. Max Wolfley, a Republican, beat Democrat Tegan Malone by less than 3 percentage points. The same two candidates faced off in 2022, which Wolfley won then by an 8-point margin.
In House District 100, which includes parts of northwest Oklahoma City and Bethany, Republican Rep. Marilyn Stark won reelection over Democrat Chaunté Gilmore. This was also a repeat from 2022, when Stark won by 10 points. This year, however, Stark’s margin was just 1.9 percentage points.
“I am so very humbled to serve you for two more years,” Stark said.
Bice wins
Republican U.S. Representative Stephanie Bice also won reelection with a 20-point win over Democrat Madison Horn. The Fifth Congressional District of central Oklahoma had been the state’s only real competitive U.S. House seat in recent years.
But the Republican-controlled state Legislature redrew the district’s boundaries to give its party a sizable advantage.
Bice beat Democrat Madison Horn by 20 percentage points, the largest margin of victory in the Fifth District since 2016.
“As my new term begins, I’m ready to fight harder than ever to protect our freedoms, secure our borders, lower costs for families and ensure our energy independence,” Bice said.
In the three other U.S. House races, Republican incumbents each won by large margins. (U.S. Representative Frank Lucas did not face a challenger in the third district.)
National vote
While this year’s election in Oklahoma County was a success for Republicans, there were signs of cracks.
Donald Trump barely won the county four years ago, and he pulled out another squeaker this year with 49.7 percent of the vote, compared to Kamala Harris’ 48 percent.
However, that result wasn’t all bad news for the minority party, as Trump underperformed his nationwide total by 1.3 percentage points. It was the first time the Republican presidential candidate received a lower percentage of votes in Oklahoma County than its nationwide total since 1948.
The battle for winning county-wide races has been in Oklahoma City’s inner bedroom communities. The urban core is reliably Democratic, while Republicans have dominated in the suburbs of Edmond and Midwest City.
This year, Democrats picked up some precincts along the Northwest Expressway corridor and in the southeast part of Oklahoma City.
For Oklahoma Democrats, winning Oklahoma County outright in the presidential race was one of this year’s biggest prizes within a realistic grasp. Doing so would have been a way for the party to claim it was making inroads in at least one part of the state. Republicans can maintain their statewide claim, but the electoral shift means the county will likely be in play in 2028.
Judge rejected
The typically mundane judicial retention ballot made history this year as Oklahoma voters ousted a member of the state Supreme Court for the first time ever.
Justice Yvonne Kauger, one of three judges on this year’s ballot, was denied retention by 50.2 percent of voters.
Supreme Court judges are appointed by the governor but face statewide retention votes after their first year and then every six years after.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has been critical of the state Supreme Court, which has thwarted some of his agenda. Dark money advertisements pushed for voters to reject the judges. After Kauger was rejected for another term, Stitt said it was an opportunity to “actually get a conservative court.”
Edmond bonds
Voters in Edmond, Oklahoma County’s largest suburb, widely rejected three bond measures.
Proposition 1, 2 and 3 would have raised more than $230 million for park improvements, roads and a new fire station. Property taxes would have increased by more than 14 percent.
“There has been a lot of spirited debate on both sides, and we will take that input and use it as we move forward,” said Darrell Davis, Edmond’s mayor since 2021. “The projects on the ballot remain high priorities, and our job now is to create a way to efficiently fund the work that is still needed.”
This article appears in Queen of Oklahoma.