Republican state Rep. Brad Boles has won election to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, defeating Democrat Rhonda Eastman for a six-year term on the three-member panel that regulates public utilities and oil and gas across the state. Boles, a Marlow native, now heads into a role that will put him squarely in the middle of one of Oklahoma's most contentious policy fights: how to handle the explosive growth of power-hungry data centers.
Boles defeated Eastman decisively, according to Oklahoma Voice, which reported he will win a six-year term at the agency responsible for regulating public utilities and oil and gas. With nearly 99% of votes counted, Boles had captured 637,267 votes, or 58.51%, to Eastman's 451,886, or 41.49%, according to Bartlesville Radio. The financial gap between the two campaigns was just as lopsided: as of the August 2026 campaign-finance deadline, Boles had spent more than $500,000 on his bid while Eastman had spent around $8,000, according to KOSU.
A Legislator With Energy Policy Experience
Boles brings a résumé built around both local government and statehouse energy policy. He has served in the Oklahoma House since winning a March 2018 special election, a period that included time as chair of the House energy committee. Before his legislative career, Boles previously served as mayor of Marlow and on the Marlow Public Schools Board of Education, per the same Oklahoma Voice report.
Boles also said he grew his family's manufacturing business in the private sector, according to the outlet's account of his background. Speaking at a GOP election night watch party at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City, Boles thanked his family for supporting him through what the report described as thousands of miles of campaigning.
Data Centers Take Center Stage
The timing of Boles' election puts him at the front lines of a fast-moving fight over who pays for the infrastructure data centers require. While in the Legislature, Boles authored a bill requiring new data centers to pay for their own construction and energy costs, intended to shield ratepayers from rising bills tied to the facilities' growth, the report notes. “Our electricity demand is going to double over the next 10 to 15 years,” Boles said, according to Oklahoma Voice, adding that Oklahoma must ensure it has a reliable and affordable electricity grid.
The scale of the buildout helps explain the urgency. Oklahoma Voice separately reported that at least 30 data centers in the state were operating, planned or under construction as of earlier this year, while The Frontier identified at least 18 projects either under construction or awaiting government approvals. The Frontier also reported that Oklahoma's two largest utilities said new demand from data centers and other industries would require more power than they could then produce, and that the average per-kilowatt-hour price for residential customers was up 7% in September compared with the same time the previous year.
The pressure has already prompted local pushback: Oklahoma City and Tulsa have enacted city-wide moratoriums on the energy-hungry facilities amid concerns about their environmental impacts, according to KGOU, which also noted that the three-member commission frequently votes on electricity rate cases — meaning Boles will have a direct hand in how those costs get distributed.
Where The Candidates Diverged
The data-center debate also defined the race itself. In an October candidate profile from Oklahoma Voice, Boles said the commission should enforce data-center regulations already enacted by the Legislature, while Eastman called for more study and suggested potentially pausing new construction of the facilities altogether. It's a split that mirrors the broader tension between accommodating rapid tech-sector growth and protecting ratepayers from its costs.
Boles' win also continues a long Republican hold on the commission; the last Democrat to serve on the panel left office in 2009, per The Frontier's reporting on the race. Term limits prevented current Commissioner Todd Hiett from seeking another term, and Boles is set to succeed him, taking office Jan. 11, 2027.
Compensation for the role is $150,000 annually, according to Oklahoma Voice. Either way, Boles now moves from writing data-center legislation in the House energy committee to enforcing — or shaping — those same rules from the regulator's chair, a shift that Oklahoma House materials tied to measures like House Bill 2992, described as setting guidelines for how electric suppliers and regulators respond to rising demand from data centers and cryptocurrency mining.
