Poll results:

We received 184 votes on the Monday poll, “Did you take advantage of Oklahoma's tax-free weekend?”

27 said YES
157 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].)

Oklahoma's GOP candidates for governor disagree on taxpayer funding for religious schools

Republican Candidate for Governor Mike Mazzei, left, supports tax dollars paying for religious schools. His opponent, Gentner Drummond, right, says the idea is an unconstitutional merging of church and state. The Republican primary runoff is on Aug. 25, 2026. (Image by Lionel Ramos)

By Lionel Ramos, KOSU
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Proposed taxpayer-funded religious charter schools are using state and federal courts to poke holes in the wall between church and state. Here is how each of the leading Republican Candidates for Governor feels about the issue.

In March, two years after the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected a proposed Catholic Charter school in Oklahoma, a new Jewish school from Florida sued the state charter school board to make its own case.

So, whether tax dollars should be used to pay for a publicly funded religious education is an open question in the courts, again. The first round of hearings in federal Western District Court of Oklahoma was last week.

During a recent News on 6/News9 primary runoff debate, Republican candidate for governor Mike Mazzei indicated his support for the idea. His reason: Because President Donald Trump supports it.

“This is one of the big differences between Drummond and myself,” Mazzei said, pointing to his opponent’s lawsuit in 2023, which led to the end of St. Isidore Catholic Charter School in state and federal courts in the following years. The Trump administration had filed court briefs supporting the school.

Mazzei’s opponent, Gentner Drummond, is also the incumbent State Attorney General. He defended his lawsuit, calling the Catholic school unconstitutional.

“I took an oath…to uphold the federal Constitution and the Oklahoma Constitution, and the Oklahoma Constitution leaves no ambiguity,” Drummond said. “We shall not fund any religious school.”

The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed with him in a 6-2 majority ruling in 2024. When the case arrived before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025, the bench was split 4-4, allowing the state’s decision to stand.

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