OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Political newcomer Kevin Stitt has won the election for Oklahoma governor, continuing the Republican Party’s stronghold on the conservative state’s government.
On Tuesday (Nov. 6), Stitt defeated Democrat and former state attorney general Drew Edmondson in the open race to replace term-limited GOP Gov. Mary Fallin, as well as Libertarian candidate Chris Powell.
With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, the unofficial results were:
- Stitt 643,987 54%
- Edmondson 500,430 42%
- Powell 36,615 3%
The 46-year-old Stitt, who founded Gateway Mortgage Group, cast himself as a businessman outsider in the mold of President Donald Trump. Stitt boosted his campaign with millions in personal loans.
Stitt defeated a 10-man field in the GOP primary that included Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb and former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. Stitt has said he’d support raising teacher salaries, but he also has hammered an anti-tax message and said he would have opposed the tax hike the Republican-led Legislature approved this year to raise teacher pay.
