2022 Oklahoma Attorney General election

2022 Oklahoma Attorney General election

November 8, 2022 (2022-11-08)

Nominee Gentner Drummond Lynda Steele Party Republican Libertarian Popular vote 792,466 281,923 Percentage 73.76% 26.24%

County results Precinct results Drummond:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Steele:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%      No votes

Attorney General before election John O'Connor Republican Elected Attorney General Gentner Drummond Republican

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]

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

John O'Connor

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]

Gentner Drummond

City officials

• Mick Cornett, former mayor of Oklahoma City^[25]
• Kirk Humphreys, former mayor of Oklahoma City^[25]

Newspapers

• Tulsa World^[26]

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

2022 Republican primary debates

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

Results by county

  Drummond

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  O'Connor

•   50–60%

Republican primary results^[34]

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

Endorsements

Gentner Drummond (R)

City officials

• Mick Cornett, former mayor of Oklahoma City^[25]
• Kirk Humphries, former mayor of Oklahoma City^[25]

Newspapers

• Tulsa World^[26]

Organizations

• Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police^[27]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Gentner Drummond	Lynda Steele	Undecided
–(L)[A]	September 15–18, 2022	2,989 (LV)	± 3.2%	52%	27%	21%

Results

2022 Oklahoma Attorney General election^[37]^[38]

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

See also

• Oklahoma Attorney General

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

Partisan clients

1. This poll was conducted in-house by and for Bruno's campaign

References

1. "2022 Oklahoma Elections-Voter Information Calendar" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
2. "2022 Statutory Election Dates and Deadlines" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
3. Overall, Michael (November 8, 2022). "Pinnell leads GOP wave on down-ballot races". Tulsa World. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
4. Krehbiel, Randy (July 24, 2021). "Tulsan John O'Connor named attorney general". Tulsa World. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
5. "Mike Hunter resigning as Oklahoma Attorney General". Oklahoma Eagle. May 29, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
6. Felder, Ben (April 17, 2022). "Gentner Drummond to face John O'Connor in Oklahoma Republican AG primary". The Oklahoman. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
7. Beaudoin, D (June 24, 2022). "Incumbent O'Connor faces challenger Drummond in Republican primary for Oklahoma attorney general". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
8. Patterson, Matt (June 17, 2022). "Oklahoma AG candidates brawl in heated debate". Non Doc. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
9. Krehbiel, Randy (May 14, 2022). "Oklahoma AG Candidates On Spotlight on Refunded Biden Donation Draws Ad Firing Back". Tulsa World. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
10. Monies, Paul (July 3, 2022). "Oklahoma Watch: In many Oklahoma races, outside groups are outspending candidates". Talequah Daily Press. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
11. Savage, Tres (June 28, 2022). "Gentner Drummond ousts John O'Connor in attorney general primary". NonDoc. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
12. Schaefer, Ralph (March 14, 2013). "Renaissance man: A Tulsa lawyer, entrepreneur recounts his varied career". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
13. Felder, Ben. "Gentner Drummond returns to AG race to face John O'Connor in Oklahoma Republican primary". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
14. Krehbiel, Randy (June 19, 2022). "Politcal [sic] notebook: Non-partisan primary push starts in Oklahoma". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
15. Faught, Jamison (June 23, 2022). "O'Connor endorsed by retired Air Force Brig. General, and by Garfield County Sheriff". Muskogee Politico. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
16. Jeanne, Kat (June 10, 2022). "Drummond discusses AG issues during Enid visit". Enid News and Eagle. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
17. Martin, Stacy (June 22, 2022). "Jackson Lahmeyer gains endorsement and gives one – and he shows well in polling". The Oklahoma City Sentinel. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
18. Sentinel, Cory Charlston, Co-Publisher The Oklahoma City. "Personal Endorsement of John O'Connor for Attorney General 2022". Oklahoma City Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
19. "Editorial: Tulsa Beacon endorsements". Tulsa Beacon. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
20. "The Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) announced its endorsement of John O'Connor for Oklahoma Attorney General". American Conservative Union. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
21. Faught, Jamison (May 31, 2022). "OK Farm Bureau, Cattlemen's Association, AFR endorse O'Connor for AG". Muskogee Politico. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
22. "OK2A Endorsements for Mid-Term Elections-June 2022". Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association. May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
23. "OKHPR's First Endorsement of 2022!". OKHPR. April 21, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
24. "SBA List's Candidate Fund PAC Endorses John O'Connor for Oklahoma AG". Susan B. Anthony List. January 21, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
25. Krehbiel, Randy (April 1, 2022). "Political notebook: Sgt. Craig Johnson Act becomes law". Tulsa World. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
26. "Endorsement: Political outsider Gentner Drummond best choice for attorney general". Tulsa World. June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
27. Krehbiel, Randy (May 10, 2022). "Political notebook: State's tax revenue continues sharp upward turn". Tulsa World. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
28. SoonerPoll
29. Amber Integrated (R)
30. SoonerPoll
31. Amber Integrated (R)
32. Amber Integrated (R)
33. Amber Integrated (R)
34. "Statewide - 2022 Primary Election Results". Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
35. "The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape". Sabato's Crystal Ball. September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
36. Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
37. "November 8 2022 Oklahoma Official results". results.okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
38. "Current Registration Statistics by County" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. November 1, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Gentner Drummond (R) for Attorney General
• Lynda Steele (L) for Attorney General