The 2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Oklahoma. Incumbent Republican governor Mary Fallin was term-limited, and was prohibited by the Constitution of Oklahoma from seeking a third term. Republican Businessman Kevin Stitt was elected with 54.3% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee and former Oklahoma attorney general Drew Edmondson.
Primary elections occurred on June 26, 2018. Edmondson won the Democratic nomination outright. Stitt, however, faced a runoff election against former Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett. On August 28, 2018, Stitt won the Republican primary runoff and became the Republican nominee for the office. The Libertarian Party also held a primary, which advanced to a runoff, with Chris Powell, a former chair of the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma, winning the nomination.
Stitt won the general election with 54.33% of the vote. This was the first time ever that the Libertarian Party was on the ballot in a gubernatorial election in Oklahoma, and the only time since 1986 that a candidate from the incumbent president's party was elected Governor of Oklahoma.
A member of the Cherokee Nation, Stitt became the first tribally enrolled Native American to serve as governor of a U.S. state. Despite his victory, Stitt lost four counties that voted Republican in the 2016 U.S. presidential race: Cherokee, Cleveland, Muskogee, and Oklahoma.
with Norman Brown<br />
Oklahoma determines ballot order by a random drawing which took place for this election cycle on July 12, resulting in the Libertarian Party being listed first, Republicans second, and Democrats third.
Graphical summary<br />
with Mick Cornett<br />
with Todd Lamb<br />
Stitt won 73 counties, while Edmondson won four. Stitt won 56 counties with at least 60% of the popular vote, 14 counties with at least 70%, and three counties – Beaver, Cimarron, and Ellis – with upwards of 80%. Stitt had the largest margin of victory in Cimarron with 73.09% more votes than Edmondson's 12.27%, the latter's lowest county performance in the election. The largest county per vote count won by Stitt was Tulsa County, home of Tulsa. Oklahoma County, of which Oklahoma City is county seat, was the only county where Stitt failed to acquire three out of every seven votes.
Edmondson won Muskogee by a single vote, and had an 11.84% margin of victory – his only margin of victory above 10% – in Oklahoma County. Edmondson won his four counties with typically narrower margins than that of Stitt, having missed 50% of the popular vote in Muskogee. Powell never came close to winning any counties, but won his highest percentage of votes in Washita County, with 4.97%
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Stitt won four of five congressional districts.
Official campaign websites