Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Mazzei has loaned his own campaign more than $11 million, and now a state lawmaker wants regulators to take a hard look at where that money actually came from. Rep. Jared Deck, a Norman Democrat, has asked federal and state banking regulators and the Oklahoma Ethics Commission to confidentially review a loan Mazzei took out from Regent Bank in January, questioning whether it effectively underwrote his run against Democrat Cyndi Munson.
Deck submitted an inquiry to the Ethics Commission and top legislators in the Oklahoma House and Senate, and separately requested reviews from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Oklahoma State Banking Department, according to Oklahoma Watch. “We've got to make sure that every standard is held,” Deck said. He serves on the Oklahoma House committee that oversees banking, financial services and pensions, and he has acknowledged that state law allows Mazzei to give his own money to his campaign — his concern is whether the bank loan behind it was handled properly.
Court records tell part of the story. A Jan. 13 filing with the Oklahoma County Clerk shows Mazzei borrowed from Regent Bank, pledging all of his shares in his Tulsa-based investment firm, Trinity Strategic Wealth, along with affiliated deposit accounts and investment property, as collateral, according to The Norman Transcript. UCC filing statements list both Mazzei individually and Tulsa Wealth Advisors Inc., doing business as Trinity Strategic Wealth, as debtors. The loan's amount, interest rate and repayment term were not disclosed in the public filing, and NonDoc reported that Mazzei is personally responsible for repaying the note at an unknown interest rate over an unknown term.
What Deck Is — and Isn't — Alleging
Deck has been careful about the limits of what he actually knows. He said he has no evidence that the same money Regent Bank loaned Mazzei in January ended up as loans to the Mazzei campaign, the station's report notes. Instead, his request centers on whether the loan's repayment terms were appropriate and how the bank valued the Trinity Strategic Wealth shares Mazzei put up as collateral.
Under Oklahoma law, candidates can borrow from traditional lending institutions such as banks, and there is no cap on how much a lender can provide. But the law also requires that loan terms be put in writing, including repayment details and any interest rate, and that those terms be comparable to other commercial loans issued by the same bank. Candidates must disclose the lending institution's name and the interest rate charged. Deck said that if the commercial loan did fund the campaign, neither the lending institution nor the interest rate was disclosed as required, per the same account. Regent Bank officials did not respond to questions about the loan when asked by The Oklahoman.
The Money Behind the Campaign
The scale of Mazzei's self-funding is what triggered the scrutiny in the first place. Oklahoma Watch reports that loans make up almost 90% of the money Mazzei's campaign has raised, with Mazzei and his wife, Noel, providing those loans interest-free — which is required, since Oklahoma law prohibits candidates from charging their own campaigns interest, and campaign donations cannot be used to pay loan interest. Separately, Mazzei has raised roughly $1.5 million from individual donors and political action committees.
The totals reported for those loans have shifted over time depending on the source and date. The Norman Transcript reported Mazzei's loans to his own campaign grew from about $3 million at the end of 2025 to roughly $6.9 million by June and about $11 million by mid-August, while Oklahoma Watch separately reported Mazzei loaned his campaign $3 million in 2025 and another $8 million through August. Mazzei would need to attract roughly $10 million in campaign donations to fully repay himself, apart from advertising and other expenses. In August, Mazzei said he was not sure whether he would get enough donations to pay the whole loan back, telling reporters, “I haven't figured all that out yet,” per KFOR.
Mazzei's Business and His Defense
Trinity Strategic Wealth, the firm at the center of the collateral question, manages personal assets for more than 1,700 people and counts 175 high-net-worth clients, according to federal records. Mazzei owns a controlling interest in the firm. Campaign spokesman Andrew Speno has said monetizing ownership shares to generate liquidity is common practice and described Trinity Strategic Wealth as one of the Midwest's largest independent wealth management companies.
Mazzei has defended the arrangement in personal terms. “I would never ask anyone to invest in our campaign if I weren't willing to do the same,” he said in May. His campaign has described obtaining an outside bank loan as common practice and has pushed back hard on Deck's request. Campaign spokesman Jahan Wilcox said Democrats were making false claims, adding there is no legislative investigation, no FDIC review and no Ethics Commission probe underway.
How Mazzei's Loans Compare
Mazzei is far from the only Oklahoma candidate to bankroll his own race. The Oklahoman has reported that Charles McCall loaned $5.6 million to his campaign, while Gentner Drummond — whom Mazzei defeated in the August primary runoff — loaned $3 million to his own. Mazzei's total dwarfs both figures. Nationally, ten states, including Texas and California, limit how much candidates can repay in personal campaign loans from donations, though Oklahoma currently imposes no such cap.
That gap has already drawn attention inside the Legislature. Rep. Jonathan Wilk proposed in May that the Ethics Commission review candidate loans or gifts to campaign committees exceeding $100,000, and commissioners voted to add the idea to their rulemaking agenda, according to Oklahoma Watch's reporting.
Political Backdrop
Mazzei, who previously served as Oklahoma secretary of budget, is running on proposals to eliminate the state income tax and abolish property taxes for seniors and veterans. He has drawn support from Sean Kouplen, who served as Oklahoma secretary of commerce and workforce development alongside Mazzei in Gov. Kevin Stitt's cabinet. Kouplen endorsed Mazzei's campaign, calling him “a true conservative in every sense of the word.” As the general election against Munson approaches, the question of how — and whether — Mazzei's millions get repaid remains unresolved.
