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    • Voters are divided over Supreme Court justices
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    Voters are divided over Supreme Court justices

    Sakege Posted on

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    Oklahoma remained bright red after Tuesday historic election saw voters turn out in forcemany motivated by anticipation or fear. Although early voting set records, final unofficial election results showed turnout was only slightly higher than in 2020. In both years, more than 1.56 million Oklahomans cast ballots.

    For a moment Tuesday, it looked like Oklahoma County, the state’s most populous county, might turn blue. And although the vote was close, the final unofficial results show that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump obtained 143,522 votes compared to the 138,665 contributed by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, a difference of about 2% of percentage points.

    Statewide, Trump defeated Harris, earning 1,035,216 votes to Harris’ 499,039, according to results published by the State Electoral Board.

    In the race for a vacant seat on the Corporation Commission, election results show Republican Brian Bingman garnering more than 63 percent of the vote. Bingman defeated Libertarian Chad Williams and Democrat Harold Spradling.

    Oklahomans also decided the fate of three state Supreme Court justices: James Edmondson, Noma Gurich and Yvonne Kauger. While the trio faced an avalanche of political ads urging voters to remove them from the bench, final results showed that opponents only succeeded in unseating veteran Judge Kauger.

    Kauger, the second woman to serve on the Oklahoma Supreme Court, lost her seat by about 7,000 votes, and 719,870 people voted against keeping her.

    Justices Noma Gurich and James Edmondson retained their seats for another six years. Edmondson obtained 736,682 votes in favor and 707,430 votes against. Gurich obtained 724,296 votes in favor compared to 716,742 votes against.

    Gurich said Kauger’s loss as a judge was a blow to the state’s highest court. “Judge Kauger has been a leader on the court for a long time,” Gurich said. “I am disappointed that the governor and others have injected pure politics into an independent, nonpartisan branch of state government.”

    Neither Kauger nor Edmondson could be reached for comment.

    Gov. Kevin Stitt spent a good portion of his four-minute speech at the state Republican election results watch party talking about efforts to remove the three judges. Stitt and his dark money political action committee, 46 Action, have campaigned against them, saying they are too liberal for Oklahoma. Stitt will have the opportunity to name Kauger’s replacement and potentially turn the court into a body more to his liking. “We cannot have liberal activists on our state Supreme Court,” Stitt said during his speech. The governor also predicted that Trump would win all 77 Oklahoma counties. “The country needs to take some common sense advice from the great state of Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “We cannot allow four more years of a Biden-Harris administration.”

    Election Day Live Updates: Trump and Harris win states; Until what time can you vote in Oklahoma?

    Democrats said they were proud of the hard work put in during the election. No incumbent Democrat has lost a race for the state Senate or House of Representatives. On Tuesday night, state party chairwoman Alicia Andrews thanked volunteers and others for nearly turning Oklahoma County blue.

    Democrats also hoped to flip the U.S. House seat representing Oklahoma City and the surrounding area, but failed to do so. Republican incumbent Stephanie Bice defeated her Democratic rival Madison Horn by a comfortable margin.

    Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and poll workers reported steady flows of voters throughout the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

    When all ballots were counted, about 4,000 more Oklahomans voted this year compared to 2024, final unofficial results show.

    It’s unclear whether the slight boost will be enough to turn the tide on Oklahoma’s historically low voter turnout compared to other states. A study by the University of Florida’s Election Sciences Laboratory shows the state’s voter turnout rate is among the lowest in the country.

    Former state Rep. Joe Dorman, who now heads the Oklahoma Children’s Advocacy Institute based in Oklahoma City, said he was encouraged by early signs that voters were heading to the polls in large numbers.

    “It shows that people are taking the election seriously,” Dorman said.

    Further: See all Oklahoma election results

    While voting is typically more intense during presidential elections, this year many Oklahomans faced wait times of more than two hours to vote, particularly during early in-person voting.

    In the state’s early voting effort, a total of 393,982 residents cast their ballots during the four-day early voting period that ended Saturday or by mail. Nationwide, more than 83 million people voted early in the general election.

    The issues that have become the focus of the presidential race also brought out large numbers of women voters and voters of color in Oklahoma, many of whom said they stood in line because of issues such as abortion, civil rights and immigration policy.

    The election also gave thousands of women the opportunity to vote for a candidate who could become the country’s first female president.

    “I came out because voting is important,” said Bailey Melton, 21, who cast her ballot last week. “There is a lot at stake right now and we wanted to make sure our voices were heard.”

    The Rev. Ray Douglas, who leads Great Mount Olive Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, said he was excited by the large number of voters of color who registered to vote and cast their ballots.

    “I believe that in this election cycle we will be represented,” he said.

    This is a developing story. Staff writers Murray Evans and Jordan Gerard contributed.

    Sakege
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