St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Oklahoma City invited all five candidates running for Oklahoma governor to an election forum, and when the evening arrived, exactly one of them walked through the doors. Democratic nominee Cyndi Munson spent an hour and a half fielding questions from a moderator and from audience members at the historically Black church, while the rest of the field was a no-show.
A Crowded Ballot, an Empty Stage
According to The Oklahoman, the church had reached out to all five gubernatorial candidates on the ballot, but Munson was the only one who turned up. During the session, she told attendees she would shake up state government if elected, according to the same report. Oklahoma's race for governor includes five names: Republican Mike Mazzei, Democrat Munson, and three independents, as outlined by News 9. Those independents are listed by the State Election Board as Orlando Lynn Bush, Robert E. Brooks Sr. and Jerry Griffin, per the same station's reporting.
The sparse turnout stands out next to other forums held earlier this year. Four Republican candidates — Gentner Drummond, Charles McCall, Mazzei and Chip Keating — shared a stage at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City on April 6, a lineup News On 6 reported was chosen based on fundraising and recent polling. Two months later, six candidates, including Munson, appeared together at a Tulsa Press Club forum at the University of Tulsa on June 2, where the group largely agreed that fixing the state's public education system should be a top priority, according to the Tulsa World's coverage of that event.
Where the Candidates Diverge
Munson has used recent campaign appearances to sketch out a platform built around public schools, health care and targeted tax relief rather than across-the-board cuts. She has said she wants to increase investment in public schools and raise pay for teachers and support staff, telling News 9 in a separate report that protecting rural hospitals and stabilizing the state's health care system would also be a priority. She also supports protecting Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma, telling KOCO, “I have stood up and fought for protecting Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma.”
On taxes, Munson opposes broad income-tax cuts and instead favors relief targeted at working families alongside continued investment in education and health care, the station reported. She has also said she would issue a moratorium on construction of new data centers on her first day in office if elected, and she opposes the proposed Oklahoma Primary Aluminum smelter in Inola — a project Mazzei supports, according to News 9's reporting.
Mazzei's Competing Pitch
Mazzei, for his part, has proposed a three-phase strategy aimed at making Oklahoma a no-income-tax state within six years, per News 9. He has also floated hiring a statewide literacy director in his first week in office, modeled on Mississippi's approach, telling KOCO, “I will hire a statewide literacy director in my first week in office.” On data centers, Mazzei has proposed four guardrails — no taxpayer funding, self-funded electricity, local industrial-site approval and closed-loop cooling systems — saying at a debate covered by KOCO, “We need four guardrails for data centers.”
Oklahoma's general election is set for Nov. 3, and the deadline to register to vote is Friday, according to News On 6 and News 9's reporting, respectively. Whether the other four gubernatorial candidates will show up at future forums — or why they skipped the one at St. John Missionary Baptist Church — remains to be seen.
