Midterm election results: Stitt wins gubernatorial race, Horn secures victory in tight congressional battle

More than one million Oklahoma voters turned out to polls yesterday, deciding on the gubernatorial race, five congressional races and five state questions.

Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt (R) defeated former Attorney General Drew Edmondson (D) to become the next governor of Oklahoma. Libertarian Chris Powell finished a distant third.

“It’s time for smart government,” Stitt said Tuesday night during his acceptance speech. “One that is customer oriented and focused on delivering core services, like education. Not one that panders to big business and special interest.”

In addition to winning the gubernatorial race, Oklahoma Republicans secured victories in every statewide office, including Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and State Superintendent of Education.

In an upset, 5th congressional district nominee Kendra Horn (D) defeated incumbent Rep. Steve Russell (R) by a margin just over 1 percent. The 5th district last elected a Democratic nominee more than 40 years ago in 1974.

“I am so excited and inspired by all of our amazing supporters and volunteers,” Horn told KOCO shortly after accepting the nomination. “We’ve put in a ton of work to change the conversation and the way people run campaigns, and change the way things run in Washington.”

Voters also decided against four out of five state questions presented on the ballot.

State Question 793, a measure which would have allowed optometrists to practice in retail establishments, was voted down by just 6,000 votes.

State Question 794, also known as Marsy’s Law, passed by a margin of 78 to 22 percent. Crime victims will now be granted more rights in the judicial process, including the right to be present at all court proceedings and the right to reasonable and timely notice of court proceedings.

State Question 798, a proposal to place the governor and lieutenant governor on the same ballot, failed by a margin of 46 to 54 percent.

State Question 800 would have allocated five percent of gross production oil taxes into The Oklahoma Vision Fund, a ‘rainy day fund’ to protect against a potential oil bust. Fifty-seven percent of voters decided against S.Q. 800.

State Question 801 would have allowed local school boards to use property tax revenue for expenses outside of building maintenance, such as teacher salaries and textbooks. The measure was struck down narrowly, with 50.4 percent of voters opposing.

ACROSS THE U.S.

While Republicans maintained their majority in the Senate, Democrats finished Tuesday evening holding a majority in the House of Representatives, according to NBC News.

In two high-profile races, Democratic challengers lost by a narrow margin. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, defeated Beto O’Rourke (D) 51 to 48 percent. Florida incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) held off Andrew Gillum (D) by a margin of 1 percent.

Democrats secured a victory in Kansas, as Sen. Laura Kelly defeated Republican Kris Kobach by 5 percent. Voters in New York’s 17th congressional district elected Democratic activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by a margin of 78 percent. At 29 years old, Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever elected to congress.

FINAL TALLIES:

Governor:

Kevin Stitt (R): 634,509 (54.3%)

Drew Edmondson (D): 493,048 (42.2%)

Chris Powell (L): 36,069 (3.4%)

Lieutenant Governor:

Matt Pinnell (R): 618,472 (61.9%)

Anastasia Pittman (D): 330,650 (34.5%)

Ivan Holmes (I): 41,555 (3.6%)

Attorney General:

Mike Hunter (R): 739,081 (64%)

Mark Myles (D): 415,060 (36%)