Voters were divided over Supreme Court justices

Oklahoma remained bright red after Tuesday historic elections saw voters show up to cast their votesmany of whom are motivated by expectation or fear. Although early voting set records, the latest unofficial election results showed turnout was only slightly higher than 2020. Both years, more than 1.56 million Oklahomans cast ballots.

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

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

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

The people of Oklahoma also determined the fate of three Supreme Court justices: James Edmondson, Noma Gurich and Yvonne Kauger. While the trio faced a barrage of political ads calling on voters to push them off the bench, the final results showed that opponents only succeeded in unseating longtime Judge Kauger.

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

Judges Noma Gurich and James Edmondson retained their seats for another six years. Edmondson earned 736,682 yes votes and 707,430 no votes. Gurich received 724,296 yes votes compared to 716,742 no votes.

Gurich said losing Kauger as a judge was a huge blow to the state Supreme Court. “Judge Kauger has been a long-time leader on the court,” Gurich said. “I am disappointed that the governor and others have injected pure politics into a nonpartisan, independent branch of state government.”

Neither Kauger nor Edmondson could be reached for comment.

Gov. Kevin Stitt spent much of his four-minute speech at the Republican party’s review of election results, talking about efforts to oust 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 appoint Kauger’s replacement and possibly transform the court into a body more to his liking.

“We cannot have liberal activists on our Supreme Court,” Stitt said during his speech.

The governor also predicted that Trump would win all 77 of Oklahoma’s counties.

“The country needs to take common sense advice from the great state of Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “We cannot allow another four years of a Biden-Harris administration.”

Oklahoma House, Senate Democrats retain incumbent seats

Democrats said they were proud of the hard work done during the election. Not a single incumbent Democrat lost a race in the Senate or House of Representatives. Tuesday night, party chairwoman Alicia Andrews thanked volunteers and others for nearly turning Oklahoma County blue.

Democrats had also hoped to flip the U.S. House of Representatives seat representing Oklahoma City and surrounding areas, but were unable to do so. Incumbent Republican Stephanie Bice defeated Democratic challenger Madison Horn by a comfortable margin.

Oklahoma sees higher turnout in the 2024 elections

Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, and poll watchers reported a steady stream of voters in the Oklahoma City metro.

When all the ballots were counted, about 4,000 more Oklahomans cast ballots this year compared to 2020, the final unofficial results show.

It’s unclear whether the slight boost will be enough to stem the tide of Oklahoma’s historically low voter turnout compared to other states. A study from the University of Florida’s Election Sciences Lab shows that the state’s election turnout is among the lowest in the nation.

Former state Rep. Joe Dorman, who now heads the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy in Oklahoma City, said he was encouraged by the early signs that a large number of voters were going to the polls.

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

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

Thanks to the state’s early voting efforts, a total of 393,982 residents cast 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 in large numbers of women voters and voters of color in Oklahoma, many of whom said they were waiting in line over issues such as abortion, civil rights and immigration policy.

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

“I came out because voting is important,” said 21-year-old Bailey Melton, 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, leader of Great Mount Olive Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, said he was excited about the large number of voters of color registering to vote and casting their ballots.

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

This story has been updated to accurately reflect the most current information. Staff writers Murray Evans and Jordan Gerard contributed.