Oklahoma Republicans raise millions ahead of key runoff elections

His runoff opponent, financial planner and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, of Tulsa, has loaned his campaign $11.6 million in total, including $710,000 since the June primary election, according to his campaign finance reports.

Mazzei, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, raised more than $1.54 million from political action committees and individual contributors in the two months between the primary and runoff elections. Among his campaign donors were term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt and First Lady Sarah Stitt, who each gave $3,300.

Drummond and Mazzei advanced to the Aug. 25 runoff election as the top two vote earners from the Republican primary, where four of the leading candidates poured more than $22 million of zero-interest personal loans into their campaigns.

In an interview with Oklahoma Voice ahead of the campaign finance filing deadline, Mazzei said he views his campaign loans as “an investment in the people of Oklahoma.”

Drummond said he wishes the state had limits on how much political candidates can self-fund. Under the current rules, highly qualified men and women can’t afford to run a competitive campaign unless they have personal wealth, he said.

“I wish that we had a restriction in Oklahoma,” Drummond said. “I think that that would create greater parity for non-independently wealthy candidates to get in the race.”

Hundreds of thousands contributed to other statewide campaigns

No other statewide race this year comes close to the gubernatorial election in the amount of fundraising and self-funding involved. But multiple candidates have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in other runoff elections between Republicans, who hold every statewide office in Oklahoma.

In the high-interest Republican primary for state superintendent, Robert Franklin and James Taylor advanced to a runoff by defeating opponents who had out-fundraised them.

Taylor, a teacher and pastor from Oklahoma City, ran a mostly self-funded $7,600 campaign before the June primary. Support for him has swelled since he made the runoff election. 

He has raised $42,462 from individual donors over the past two months, according to his campaign finance reports.

Franklin, a longtime educator and school administrator from Sand Springs, has raised $128,446 from individual contributions and political action committees since he finished in the lead of the crowded GOP primary. That’s more than double the amount of money his campaign collected before making the runoff.

Franklin, who has been endorsed by over 200 current and former local district superintendents, received many of his campaign contributions from fellow educators and education-focused groups, Ethics Commission records show.

The race for Oklahoma labor commissioner also features a Republican runoff between state representatives John Pfeiffer and Kevin West. 

Pfeiffer, of Orlando, received $93,550 in individual and political action committee contributions since the primary election while West, of Moore, raised $39,855, according to their campaign finance reports.

In the GOP runoff race for insurance commissioner, Marty Quinn leads Bob Sullivan in fundraising since June. 

Quinn, an insurance broker and former state lawmaker from Owasso, reported raising $153,302 in individual contributions, political action committee donations and a personal loan of $6,000. 

Sullivan, an insurance agent from Inola, raised $100,410 from donors and political action committees. His latest campaign finance reports show no personal loans over the past two months, though he poured $50,000 of his own money into his campaign before the June primary.

Senior reporter Barbara Hoberock contributed to this report.

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