Mazzei Wins Oklahoma Governor's Race as Stitt Hands Over an Eight-Year Scorecard

Oklahoma voters chose Mike Mazzei as the state’s 29th governor on November 3, giving the Tulsa businessman and former state senator about 52% of the vote over Democrat Cyndi Munson’s 45.9%. Mazzei succeeds Kevin Stitt, who reached his term limit and marked the handoff by congratulating his successor and defending his fiscal record.

That record is a set of hard numbers: state education funding grew from $2.91 billion to $4.2 billion across eight years, the administration points to $1.6 billion in tax cuts, and it projects roughly $4.5 billion in savings for fiscal year 2027. Stitt also highlighted a state aircraft fleet cut from 17 planes to five and more than 1,500 vehicles removed from state rolls.

The legislature looks familiar but not identical. Republicans kept their supermajorities in both chambers, yet Democrats flipped at least five House seats, giving the new governor a friendly but livelier statehouse. Locally, that matters in a place where Fort Sill, state employees, and public schools all live with the ripple effects of every budget line. What’s the one state budget item you’d want the next governor to protect?