Oklahoma: Mike Mazzei, Trump's candidate, wins the Republican nomination for governor

Former Republican state senator Mike Mazzei defeated Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on Tuesday in the runoff of the Republican primary for governor by a narrow margin, marking a significant victory for President Donald Trump, who endorsed Mazzei in the race. Although the attorney general had finished narrowly ahead of Mazzei in the initial Republican primary, recent polls showed that the runoff was too close to call a clear favorite.

Trump first endorsed Mazzei in May in the race to succeed Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, who is ineligible to seek another term due to term limits, and continued to reiterate his support for the former state legislator. In a post on Truth Social last week, the Republican president praised Mazzei and criticized Drummond, writing: "Drummond is not the right man. He has a bad attitude and doesn't stand for Oklahoma Values. You MUST VOTE FOR 'MIKE MAZZEI FOR GOVERNOR' on Tuesday, August 25."

Both campaigns received significant financial backing. According to a state campaign finance report prior to the runoff election, Drummond raised approximately $10 million through contributions, loans, and political action committees. Mazzei raised nearly $12.5 million, including $11 million he personally loaned to his campaign.

While Mazzei received strong backing from Trump and a significant portion of the MAGA faction of the Republican Party, the fact is that Drummond secured the backing of several prominent Oklahoma figures and organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police of Oklahoma, the Republican pro tempore speaker of the House of Representatives, Anthony Moore, and former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer.

With his victory, Mazzei is now the clear favorite to win the general election in November, in which he will face Democratic state representative Cyndi Munson, given the state's strongly Republican-leaning electorate.