OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla., (The Oklahoma Post) –
The 2026 race for Oklahoma’s governorship is underway, promising more than just another election cycle. With Governor Kevin Stitt barred from seeking re-election due to term limits, the position of executive power in the state is now an open battlefield—one where influence, control, and institutional legacy are up for grabs.
But as the early dust settles, the question becomes clear: who is truly positioned to lead Oklahoma forward, and who is simply maneuvering for power without a foundation of justice?
The Fractured Republican Field
The Republican primary has drawn a wide array of candidates, all jockeying to claim the conservative mantle while the base remains splintered across factions.
• Gentner Drummond – The current Attorney General from Pawhuska, backed early by the Oklahoma State Fraternal Order of Police. His campaign relies heavily on institutional loyalty—but lacks grassroots momentum and is shadowed by a pattern of selective inaction.
• Charles McCall – A banker and former House Speaker from Atoka. McCall brings deep legislative experience and a reputation for rural advocacy.
• Mike Mazzei – A financial planner and former State Senator from South Tulsa, Broken Arrow, and Bixby. Mazzei is pushing fiscal reform and educational restructuring as campaign centerpieces (KOSU, April 2025).
• Leisa Mitchell Haynes – A candidate from Stillwater with experience in municipal governance. Haynes has focused her campaign on infrastructure and family-first policy reform (KOCO, 2025).
• Ryan Walters (potential) – A McAlester native and current Superintendent of Public Instruction, Walters has made waves on cultural education policy and could bring a hardline conservative base into the fray (The 74 Million, 2024).
• Matt Pinnell (potential) – Lieutenant Governor and Tulsa-area political veteran, Pinnell maintains strong GOP ties and could rise as a stabilizing figure if others falter.
• Chip Keating (potential) – Former Secretary of Public Safety and Oklahoma City businessman, Keating carries political legacy as the son of ex-Governor Frank Keating.
• Justin “JJ” Humphrey (potential) – A representative from Lane, Oklahoma, serving District 19, which includes Atoka, Bryan, Choctaw, and Pushmataha counties. Humphrey has a background in law enforcement and has been a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform, emphasizing data-driven approaches and community engagement (Oklahoma House of Representatives, 2025).
• Shane Jett (potential) – A U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer and current State Senator for District 17, covering northern Pottawatomie County and eastern Oklahoma County. Jett previously served in the Oklahoma House and brings a platform rooted in conservative policy and government accountability.
This large and capable field ensures one thing: no single endorsement—no matter how historically weighty—can crown a front-runner without resistance.
The FOP’s Endorsement: A Declining Influence
Historically, an endorsement from the Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) was seen as a kingmaker move in Republican primaries. It symbolized strength, alignment with law enforcement, and the support of one of the state’s most visible public unions.
However, in recent election cycles, the FOP’s backing has not consistently translated into victory or public trust. Former endorsements of candidates who later underperformed, stumbled in office, or alienated key constituencies have slowly eroded the endorsement’s potency.
Now, in 2025, the landscape has shifted entirely. Voter confidence in policing institutions has declined in several counties due to unaddressed misconduct and rising reports of abuse. Combined with the broad field of candidates and a splintered Republican base, Drummond’s early endorsement by the FOP may prove to be more symbolic than strategic. It may harden his support with entrenched insiders, but it does not carry the same statewide persuasion it once did.
In essence, the FOP endorsement no longer guarantees momentum—it guarantees scrutiny.
Drummond’s Strategic Failures as Attorney General
Attorney General Drummond’s campaign is built on the narrative of law and order. Yet his time in office tells a different story—one where action was withheld, discretion was weaponized, and public faith was quietly discarded.
Drummond has refused to act on widespread allegations of corruption and due process violations within Oklahoma’s legal system. From excessive force cases to systemic failures within state agencies, his office has too often stood silent.
Particularly alarming is the Attorney General’s total failure to confront wrongdoing within the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS). Despite whistleblower complaints, public petitions, and investigative coverage, his office has neither launched prosecutions nor advanced any reform. Families across the state—rural and urban—continue to report targeted removals, delayed reunifications, and improper court coordination. These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a pattern of abuse that has become embedded in the state’s social fabric.
And still, the state’s highest legal authority has done nothing.
The Enid Greer Center Scandal: A Case Study in Inaction
The Robert M. Greer Center in Enid, a state-run facility for adults with intellectual disabilities and mental illness, has been the site of horrific abuse. Allegations included staff choking residents until unconscious, instigating fights between them, and engaging in psychological torment resembling torture. Despite public outrage and internal investigations, the state chose not to impose fines exceeding $500,000, instead hiring consultants for procedural reviews (The Frontier, 2023).
Attorney General Drummond’s office never intervened with criminal charges, nor did it move to shut down the facility or remove the actors responsible. His refusal to act allowed institutional abuse to continue unchecked—yet another instance of silence used as a shield against accountability.
The People’s Case: Moyer v. McDaniel
No case more perfectly encapsulates the failures of Drummond’s office than Moyer v. Stinnett, that has now turned into Moyer v. a small group of criminals, involving a civil (constitutional) court matter involving sweeping due process violations, civil rights infringements, and blatant abuse of medical records by state actors. The plaintiff has documented years of ADA and HIPAA breaches, judicial misconduct, falsified records, and institutional obstruction.
The Attorney General’s office was provided with comprehensive documentation, formal legal notices, and filings detailing the misconduct—each one urging intervention. The result? A single impersonal acknowledgment. No investigation. No follow-up. No substantive action. First Assistant AG Adam Panter offered no redress either. Even Oklahoma’s once-respected grand jury process now appears compromised—more theater than justice, manipulated by entrenched power to pacify public scrutiny.
This isn’t bureaucratic delay. It’s a deliberate tactic—an engineered inaction designed to shield political allies and insulate the machinery of state from accountability. And in that calculated silence, injustice isn’t just tolerated—it flourishes.
Wildfires, Mismanagement, and the Call to Impeach
As wildfires swept across Oklahoma in April 2025, destroying homes and threatening rural towns, the state’s leadership faltered. Governor Kevin Stitt, instead of coordinating a robust disaster response, fired the State Forester and threatened to gut the Oklahoma Forestry Service. His actions created chaos among fire crews and local governments already stretched to their limits (Public Radio Tulsa, April 2025).
Calls for impeachment have surged. Volunteer fire chiefs and legislators alike have called for Stitt’s removal from office, citing dangerous mismanagement and obstruction. Yet Attorney General Drummond has remained quiet—again defaulting to a position of passivity when strength was needed.
In contrast, Representative JJ Humphrey has openly called for a formal review of the Stitt administration’s handling of the emergency. Senator Shane Jett has proposed legislation to limit the executive branch’s ability to unilaterally interfere in emergency operations. These are the acts of candidates who understand power is only justified when used to protect the people, not consolidate control.
Drummond’s Firehouse Gambit: Optics over Action
Following Governor Stitt’s controversial ouster of Oklahoma’s State Forestry Director amid a wave of catastrophic wildfires, Attorney General Gentner Drummond broke from his usual silence to issue what appeared to be a carefully timed statement. While publicly aligning himself with Oklahoma’s firefighters and urging calm, the message read less like a call to justice—and more like a bid for union loyalty in an election year.
Drummond’s sudden vocal support came just as firefighter unions began weighing endorsements for the 2026 gubernatorial race. His calculated posture is clear: appear principled without alienating the powerful establishment that has long shielded inaction. But Drummond’s rivals, including JJ Humphrey and Shane Jett, already have deeper roots with first responder communities. Both have advocated extensively for rural emergency funding and personnel protection long before it became politically convenient.
Worse still, Drummond’s belated positioning is undermined by his own track record. He was fired as legal counsel for the state’s mental health board in 2024 after failing to prioritize the department’s urgent settlement needs. He refused to act decisively in the Enid Greer Center abuse cases, where vulnerable residents were waterboarded, beaten, and tortured under state-contracted care. Garfield County citizens have now petitioned for a grand jury investigation into these systemic failures—and Drummond’s name appears on that list of accountability targets.
So when he arrives with sirens of sympathy but no record of reform, Oklahomans are right to ask: is this leadership, or is this just a campaign?
The Illusion of Power, the Demand for Change
As the 2026 gubernatorial contest intensifies, Oklahomans are being asked to make a decision not just about politics, but about power itself.
Will they reward those who protected the system rather than the people? Will they elevate someone who has allowed judicial abuse, ignored civil rights violations, and abandoned victims of state corruption? Or will they choose a leader who earns authority not by proximity to it—but by proving a commitment to justice, equity, and transparency?
The people of Oklahoma are no longer looking for slogans. They are looking for strength—the kind rooted in courage, not connections. The kind that doesn’t fear breaking ranks to tell the truth. Drummond may want the governor’s office. But if power is to mean anything in Oklahoma, he will have to earn it first.
This Seat is Taken! No Democrats Allowed
As of April 6, 2025, no Democratic candidates have officially announced their intention to run in the 2026 Oklahoma gubernatorial election. The current field consists solely of Republican candidates, including Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former House Speaker Charles McCall, and entrepreneur Leisa Mitchell Haynes.
Historically, Democratic candidates have entered Oklahoma’s gubernatorial races later in the election cycle. For instance, in the 2022 election, Joy Hofmeister announced her Democratic candidacy in October 2021, approximately a year before the election. Given this precedent, it’s possible that Democratic contenders may declare their campaigns in the coming months.
It’s also worth noting that Oklahoma has leaned Republican in recent gubernatorial elections. The last Democratic governor, Brad Henry, served from 2003 to 2011. Since then, Republicans have maintained control of the governor’s office. This political landscape may influence the timing and decisions of potential Democratic candidates.
As the election cycle progresses, it’s advisable to monitor official announcements and reputable news sources for updates on Democratic candidates entering the race.
(Writing by DJ Vance; Editing by Robbie Robertson)
By The People’s Popular Paper | Oklahoma Special Report
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