Oklahoma legislative candidates raised nearly $3 million leading up to the Nov. 5 election, with much of the money flowing to races in suburban Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Meanwhile, dark money organizations are spending big to sway Oklahoma voters on two legislatively- referred state questions and three judicial retention candidates.
Monday was the deadline for candidates to file a pre-election campaign finance report covering contributions and expenditures from Aug. 13 to Oct. 21. The filings are the last information required of candidates ahead of election day unless they accept a contribution or in-kind donation at or exceeding $1,000.
Here are five campaign finance takeaways ahead of election day:
Suburban Races Attract Millions
Legislative races in suburban districts, where populations are rising and registered independent and Democratic voters rival Republicans, are attracting the most money this election cycle.
The Senate District 47 election in Northwest Oklahoma City and Edmond, where Republican Kelly Hines and Democrat Erin Brewer are running to succeed term-limited Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, has attracted the most money of any legislative race. The candidates raised $235,000 during the reporting period, with Hines holding a slight advantage.
Treat secured re-election by a double-digit margin in 2020, but Democrats and independents combined now outnumber Republicans in the district, voter registration data shows. Education has been a top issue in the race, with Hines and Brewer sparring over support for Superintendent of Public Instruction and Senate District 47 resident Ryan Walters.
State Senate races in districts 45 and 47 in the Tulsa metropolitan area and district 21, which covers the Stillwater area, also attracted more than $100,000 in contributions.
— Fundraising Competitive in Several Districts Republicans had the fundraising edge over Democrats in legislative races during the reporting period, but the supermajority party lags in some districts.
Democrat Chauntee Gilmore, challenging incumbent Rep. Marilyn Stark in House District 100, raised $61,425 over the reporting period, nearly double the $35,140 that Stark received.
Registered Democrats have increased slightly in the district over the past two years, bucking the statewide trend of declining Democratic registration.
In House District 70, incumbent Rep. Suzanne Schreiber raised $139,686 over ten weeks, the most of any state House candidate. More than $100,000 of the contributions came from individuals.
— Independent Expenditures Top $5 Million Over Two Months Spending by politically involved nonprofits with lax donor disclosure requirements has ramped up since early September, with most of the money going toward a typically mundane nonpartisan retention vote.
People for Opportunity, a political action committee with ties to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, spent more than $1.2 million on direct mailers, digital advertisements and texting services since late September opposing the retention of Oklahoma Supreme Court justices Yvonne Kauger, James Edmondson and Noma Gurich. All three were appointed by Democratic governors: Kauger by George Nigh, Edmondson and Gurich by Brad Henry.
46 Action, a dark money group with reported ties to Gov. Kevin Stitt, spent $447,507 on television advertisements opposing Kauger, Edmondson and Gurich. One of the commercials claims the justices are activists supported by liberal trial lawyers.
Two groups in favor of keeping the justices, Protect Our Freedoms LLC and Hands Off Our Courts, spent a combined $1.58 million on mailers, television commercials and digital advertisements, records show. One of the pro-retention mailers references the court’s 6-2 decision to block the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School from opening.
Outside spending is also prevalent in several legislative races, though at a lower rate than the singleparty June primary and August runoff elections.
— Group Reports Spending on State Question Backers of the state question to authorize municipal public infrastructure districts are making a late push to secure a majority of yes votes.
The Yes on 833 PAC reported spending $534,605 on television and digital ads beginning on Oct. 17. The PAC has also launched a campaign website, which makes the case that rejecting the question will cause the state to lose development to large urban areas like Dallas and Kansas City.
No entity has reported spending on State Question 834, which seeks to forbid noncitizens from voting in state and municipal elections.
— Incumbents Chip in to Help Party Members Several incumbent legislators, many of whom won their seats outright when no candidate filed to run against them, are chipping in to help party members in competitive races.
An Oklahoma Watch review of Ethics Commission records showed that candidates transferred $225,000 from their campaign accounts from Aug. 29 to Oct. 29. The candidate-to-candidate contributions are capped at $3,300 per election cycle.
Speaker-designate Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, contributed $42,200 to Republican House candidates over the two months. Hilbert, elected in 2016, hasn’t faced a general election opponent since 2020.
House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, pitched in $26,100 to 10 Democratic House candidates. She faces Republican David Hooten on the Nov. 5 ballot.
