The red wave showed no sign of slowing down in Oklahoma on Tuesday night.
For the third consecutive presidential election cycle, Donald Trump won at least 65% of the statewide presidential vote. The state’s Republican congressional delegation also swept by double-digits and every incumbent Republican state legislator secured reelection.
The conservative-led effort to oust three Oklahoma Supreme Court justices proved partially successful as voters narrowly decided not to retain longtime Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger. Voters retained Justices James Edmondson and Noma Gurich by a margin of 2% or less.
The results are unofficial and unverified and will not include provisional ballots until after 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8.
Here are five takeaways from election night:
All 77 Counties Go Red
As results came in just after 7 p.m. on Tuesday night, Oklahoma County appeared to be in play for Democrat Kamala Harris. Joe Biden came within a few thousand votes of winning the county in 2020 and early voting had Harris with a double-digit lead.
That early advantage evaporated as precincts in the solidly Republican eastern half of the county began reporting results. With 290 precincts reporting, Trump won Oklahoma County by just under 2%, giving Trump a victory in all 77 of the state’s counties for the third consecutive presidential election cycle. A Democratic presidential nominee hasn’t won a county in Oklahoma since 2000.
Trump won by 15% or greater in every other county in the state.
Voters Oust Kauger, Retain Gurich and Edmondson
The closest races of the night were three judicial retention questions for Justices Yvonne Kauger, James Edmondson and Noma Gurich. All were appointed by former Democratic governors– Kauger by Gov. George Nigh and Edmondson and Gurich by Gov. Brad Henry.
The trio faced a barrage of negative advertising from conservative outside groups leading up to the election, with the television advertisements and mailers claiming that the justices were too liberal for Oklahoma. At least $3.4 million has been spent on the race since mid-September, according to Oklahoma Ethics Commission filings.
With 100% of precincts reporting at 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday night, Kauger trailed by 7,048 votes. Should the unofficial results stand, the Judicial Nominating Commission will submit three candidates to Gov. Kevin Stitt to replace Kauger, who has served on the Oklahoma Supreme Court since 1984.
Republicans Sweep Congressional Elections
Oklahoma’s all-Republican congressional delegation likely didn’t break a sweat.
Incumbent U.S. Reps. Josh Brecheen, Stephanie Bice, Kevin Hern and Tom Cole all won by a margin of 20 points or greater. Frank Lucas did not draw a general election challenger and was elected by default.
The most competitive race was in the 5th Congressional District, where Bice defeated cybersecurity expert Madison Horn with 60% of the vote. After Democrat Kendra Horn pulled off a surprise upset in the district in 2018, Oklahoma’s Republican supermajority in the Legislature changed the boundaries of the district in redistricting to make it more favorable for Republicans.
Voters Split on State Questions The proposal to change one word in the state constitution to forbid noncitizens from voting in nonfederal elections received overwhelming support, with more than 80% of voters backing State Question 834.
Meanwhile, the legislatively- referred ballot initiative to authorize municipal public infrastructure districts flopped, with more than 60% of voters rejecting State Question 833. Several conservative lawmakers criticized the potential of the measure to increase taxes on homeowners, while Democrats expressed concerns that it would make property owners reluctant to support school bond measures. Backers of the proposition spent more than $533,000.
Every incumbent state legislator on the ballot kept their seat on Tuesday night, and no district flipped parties.
In Senate DIstrict 47, the northwest Oklahoma City district where Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat is term-limited, Republican Kelly Hines defeated Democrat Erin Brewer with just under 53% of the vote. The race attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and was expected to be among the most competitive legislative races.
The closest race was in House District 100, where Democrat Chaunte Gilmore came within 287 votes of ousting incumbent Rep. Marilyn Stark.
Republican Brian Bingman, who previously served as Senate pro tem and secretary of state, will replace outgoing commissioner Bob Anthony on the threemember Oklahoma Corporation Commission. The race was not expected to be competitive. Anthony was first elected to the Corporation Commission in 1988, but came under term limits for statewide offices passed by voters in 2010.