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Tuesday, June 16, 2026 • Sunny and very warm. Upper 80s, lower 90s. ☀️
🇺🇸 TODAY IS PRIMARY ELECTION DAY IN OKLAHOMA 🇺🇸
Don’t know where to vote? Click here.
Oklahoma Primary Election Guide: When you can vote and what to know before heading to the polls (KOCO)
⚾ Sooners one win from MCWS championship series after 4-3 win over Georgia
**
Poll results:
We received 90 votes on the Monday poll, “Should there be an upper age limit to be President?”
• 77 said YES
• 13 said NO
New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)
Republican primaries for governor, attorney general drive record outside spending
Outside groups have spent tens of millions of dollars opposing candidates in Oklahoma's Republican primary for governor and attorney general. (Photo illustration by Keaton Ross/Oklahoma Watch)
By Keaton Ross and Maya Henry, Oklahoma Watch
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Open your mailbox, turn on the radio or fire up a network television channel, and you’ll likely be bombarded with negative ads attacking Oklahoma political candidates.
Outside groups are flooding Oklahoma with a record amount of advertising ahead of the June 16 primary election. From April 1 to June 14, these organizations reported $27.5 million in independent expenditures to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Candidates spent a comparable $26.9 million from their campaign accounts from April 1 to June 1.
The Republican primaries for governor and attorney general have attracted most of the outside spending, much of it from political action committees that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they do not coordinate with candidates. These groups are often funded by politically involved 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, which are not required under state and federal law to disclose their donors. Critics have coined the term dark money to describe the tactic.
Top outside spenders include Secure Oklahoma PAC, which has reported $3.42 million in advertising opposing Jon Echols and supporting Jeff Starling in the Republican attorney general primary. The group’s various attack ads and mailers accuse Echols of being disloyal to President Donald Trump.
Secure Oklahoma PAC reported having just $1,000 in the bank on March 31, the last quarterly reporting deadline under state ethics rules. The next report, covering April through June, is due July 31.
In the Republican gubernatorial primary, the Make Oklahoma Great Again PAC has spent at least $3 million on ads supporting Gentner Drummond and opposing Mike Mazzei. The group faced widespread scrutiny last month for releasing an ad created using generative artificial intelligence that showed Mazzei cozying up to Hillary Clinton.
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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰
Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.
Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:
• Luther Board of Trustees to hold Wednesday meeting outside as the public weighs in on a data center application (The Luther Register)
• Lahmeyer responds after reports of text messages surface during congressional race (News On 6)
• New dark money groups emerge days before Oklahoma primary | Exclusive (The Oklahoman)*
• In-person early voting turnout up, Oklahoma election data shows (Oklahoma Voice)
• Oklahoma County sheriff challenges inmate transportation duties in lawsuit (KOCO)
• Southeastern Oklahoma hospital asks Netflix viewers to stay away after true-crime documentary (KXII)
• Durant roadway will get new name after Choctaw Nation purchased potential ICE facility (KOSU)
• Oklahoma regulator recommends a disputed mine expansion over the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer (The Frontier)
• Sen. Lankford pushes bill to end government shutdowns (Gaylord News)
• SD 12 candidate Craig Stump accused of sexual misconduct with minors (NonDoc)
• Where are Oklahoma County renters being evicted? New database offers answers (KOSU)
• Greenwood Trust making progress, executive director says (Tulsa World)*
• Where to find family food support across the Tulsa metro this summer (Tulsa Flyer)
• Oklahoma ahead of the game on Trump’s trade career focus (Gaylord News)
• Cherokee Nation takes steps to end charter school agreement with the state (Tulsa World)*
• New Osage program will help citizens get food from tribe's butcher, local farm (OPMX)
• How Indigenous-led efforts in Oklahoma fill eagle conservation gaps, bring tribes together (KOSU)
• Two arrested during traffic stop for cockfighting (KFOR)
Tuesday Poll
Should marital infidelity be a disqualifier from being elected to public office?
⚾ Men’s College World Series ⚾
Monday’s Games
• Texas 14, Alabama 2 (Crimson Tide eliminated)
• Oklahoma 4, Georgia 3
Tuesday’s Games
• West Virginia vs. Troy (elimination game)
• Georgia vs. Texas (elimination game)
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