2022 Oklahoma Attorney General election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
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November 8, 2022
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   Drummond: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Steele: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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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
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
Nominee
- Gentner Drummond, attorney, former staffer for U.S. Senator David Boren, and candidate for attorney general in 2018[12]
Eliminated in primary
- John O'Connor, appointed incumbent Attorney General of Oklahoma (2021–present)[13]
Endorsements
U.S. House Representatives
- Barry Goldwater Jr., U.S. Representative from California (1969–1983)[14]
Statewide officials
- Ben Robinson, former Oklahoma Secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs[15]
- Kevin Stitt, Governor of Oklahoma (2019–present)[16]
County officials
- Damon Devereaux, Logan County sheriff[15]
- Corey Rink, Garfield County sheriff[15]
- Tim Turner, Haskell County sheriff[15]
- Scott Walton, Rogers County sheriff[15]
- Chris West, Canadian County sheriff[15]
Individuals
- Jackson Lahmeyer, candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2022 United States Senate election in Oklahoma[17]
Newspapers
- The Oklahoma City Sentinel[18]
- Tulsa Beacon[19]
Organizations
- American Conservative Union[20]
- American Farmers and Ranchers[21]
- National Right to Life Committee[14]
- Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association[21]
- Oklahoma Farm Bureau[21]
- Oklahoma Second Amendment Association[22]
- Oklahomans for Health & Parental Rights[23]
- Susan B. Anthony List[24]
- City officials
- Mick Cornett, former mayor of Oklahoma City[25]
- Kirk Humphreys, former mayor of Oklahoma City[25]
Newspapers
Organizations
- Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police[27]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Gentner Drummond |
John M. O'Connor |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SoonerPoll[28] | June 13–21, 2022 | 350 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 47% | 18% | – | 35% |
| Amber Integrated (R)[29] | June 6–9, 2022 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 41% | 28% | – | 30% |
| SoonerPoll[30] | April 25 – May 11, 2022 | 306 (LV) | ± 5.6% | 41% | 23% | – | 36% |
| Amber Integrated (R)[31] | March 24–27, 2022 | 455 (LV) | ± 4.6% | 37% | 16% | – | 47% |
| Amber Integrated (R)[32] | December 15–19, 2021 | 253 (RV) | ± 6.2% | 16% | 24% | 4% | 56% |
| Amber Integrated (R)[33] | September 29 – October 3, 2021 | 253 (RV) | ± 6.2% | 16% | 33% | 8% | 43% |
Debate
| 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
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 50–60%
| 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
Candidates
- Gentner Drummond (Republican)
- Lynda Steele (Libertarian)
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[35] | Safe R | September 14, 2022 |
| Elections Daily[36] | Safe R | November 1, 2022 |
Polling
Results
| 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 | |||||