Oklahoma Political News

President Donald Trump’s plan to nominate U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as Homeland Security secretary will leave an unexpected Senate vacancy in deep-red Oklahoma.

Under a new Oklahoma law, Gov. Kevin Stitt will get to pick Mullin’s replacement if he does indeed leave his Senate seat. Stitt said in a statement Thursday he will look to appoint “a strong, small government conservative voice to support President Trump.”

Read the full story at AP News.

A long-awaited special audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Education found no misuse of taxpayer funds under former state Superintendent Joy Hofmeister.

State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released the findings during a news conference Wednesday. Gov. Kevin Stitt requested the audit in 2021 while at odds with Hofmeister, who was term-limited in 2023.

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.

Deals Under State’s Operation Guardian Raise Questions About Anonymity, Bounties and Due Process

ICE’s plans got a major boost from the state of Oklahoma last year when Governor Kevin Stitt announced “Operation Guardian,” which deputized members of the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to carry out immigration enforcement on behalf of ICE. In all, more than 30 Oklahoma departments or agencies have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, including many small town police departments.

But while law enforcement has championed the agreements, immigration attorneys say many arrests are indiscriminate, that the majority of ICE enforcement actions in Oklahoma target immigrants with no criminal charges, and some who are following the law to legally immigrate.

Read the full story at Oklahoma City Free Press.

A group of Republican lawmakers have urged the state’s top education official to investigate student walkouts, a method of youth protest for decades.

Over the past two weeks, students across the state have walked out of public high schools to hold demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose tactics during a mass deportation campaign have become a nationwide controversy.

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.

Oklahoma City voters overwhelmingly re-elected David Holt as their mayor, giving him more than 86% of the vote.
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Three of the state's largest school districts approved bond packages worth millions of dollars.

In Edmond, a two-part, $140 million package is the fourth one the district has passed since 2021.

To see the full list of elections and results, visit the State Election Board website.

Read the full story at KGOU.

The Oklahoma State Election Board released its official annual report on voter registration Monday. Here is how the state electorate breaks down ahead of this year's midterms.

There are about 2.4 million registered voters in Oklahoma, according to the report, which includes data from Jan. 15, 2026.

About 53% of those voters are Republicans, 25% are Democrats and another 20% are Independents. Libertarians make up almost 1%.

Read the full story at KGOU.

Gov. Kevin Stitt delivered his eighth and final State of the State speech Monday, as he kicked off Oklahoma's 2026 legislative session with his list of priorities: small government, insulation from expensive federal mandates and more.

Read the full story at KGOU.

Oklahoma City will hold its mayoral election Feb. 10, with popular incumbent David Holt, 46, challenged by the comparatively obscure Matthew Pallares, 34. OKC mayors serve four-year terms and are paid $24,000 per year to preside over a city council that includes representatives from OKC’s eight wards.

Read the full story at NonDoc.

City government officials are asking the Department of Homeland Security to respect local processes and approval norms for a planned large-scale detention facility in southwest OKC, and imploring Oklahoma’s congressional delegation for support.

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“The people of Oklahoma City deserve to be heard on decisions that will directly affect them,” [OKC Mayor David] Holt’s letter reads, calling the placing of a major detention center in a heavily populated area of the city “a matter of serious concern.”

Read the full story at Oklahoma City Free Press.

A House lawmaker filed legislation to prevent artificial intelligence from having the same rights as humans in Oklahoma.

Rep. Cody Maynard, R-Durant, proposed multiple bills aiming to regulate AI, including House Bill 3546 which would prohibit the technology from having personhood status.

“AI is a man-made tool and it should not have any more rights than a hammer would,” he said. “We’re starting to see stories of people trying to marry AI companions. There’s a lot of confusion going on where people are asking, do these systems rise to the level of sentience?”

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.