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Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 2014

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 Oklahoma's 2014 elections
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Oklahoma Gubernatorial Election
Primary Date:
June 24, 2014
General Election Date:
November 4, 2014
November 4 Election Winner:
Mary Fallin Republican Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Mary Fallin Republican Party
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Oklahoma State Executive Elections
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Current trifecta for Republicans
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State executive offices in Oklahoma
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The Oklahoma gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Mary Fallin (R) was first elected in 2010 and was running for re-election. The general election ballot featured Fallin, Democratic candidate Joe Dorman and independent candidates Richard Prawdzienski and Kimberly Willis. Fallin won another four-year term in office.

The governor's office shifted from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party with Fallin's 2010 win.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Oklahoma, the Republican Party conducts a closed primary, in which only registered party members may participate. The Democratic Party holds a semi-closed primary, in which unaffiliated voters may participate.[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Both legislative chambers and the governor's office were held by a single party prior to the general election, making Oklahoma a state government trifecta. If Dorman had won the 2014 election, the state would have lost trifecta status. Learn more about the latest developments in state government trifectas by clicking here.

Candidates

General election

Republican Party Mary Fallin - Incumbent[2][3]Green check mark transparent.png
Democratic Party Joe Dorman - State representative[4]
Grey.png Richard Prawdzienski - Former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party[5]
Grey.png Kimberly Willis[6]

Lost in primary

Republican Party Chad Moody[6]
Republican Party Dax Ewbank[6]

Removed from ballot

Grey.png Joe Sills[6][7]

Withdrawn

Republican Party Randy Brogdon - Former state senator[8][9]
Democratic Party RJ Harris - Businessman, 2012 Independent candidate for Congress[10][11]

Results

General election

Governor of Oklahoma, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMary Fallin Incumbent 55.8% 460,298
     Democratic Joe Dorman 41% 338,239
     Independent Kimberly Willis 2.1% 17,169
     Independent Richard Prawdzienski 1.1% 9,125
Total Votes 824,831
Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board

Primary election

Republican primary

Governor of Oklahoma, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMary Fallin 75.5% 200,035
Chad Moody 15.4% 40,839
Dax Ewbank 9.1% 24,020
Total Votes 264,894
Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board.

Democratic primary

  • Uncontested

Race background

Recent Republican strength

Oklahoma had elected Republicans to federal offices for decades, but Democrats controlled much of state government through the early 21st century. The Democrats held the state legislature in 2004 and controlled the governor's office until the 2010 elections when incumbent Mary Fallin defeated Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins (D).

General election issues

Fallin's approval ratings were around 60 percent through spring 2014.[12] Her challenger, Joe Dorman, was a state representative who has made much of his campaign about education reform in Oklahoma.[13] An important piece of Dorman's education pitch was his opposition to the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Governor Fallin signaled her opposition to Common Core by signing legislation on June 5 to repeal Common Core standards in Oklahoma.[14]

Fallin's polling

In mid-July, a Rasmussen poll found a closer race than expected between Fallin and Dorman.[15] A July poll also showed Fallin's popularity and job approval ratings falling to around 50 percent.[16] By mid-October, Fallin's poll numbers had rebounded with successive polls showing a 24-point lead over Dorman.[17]

Polls

Oklahoma Governor's Race 2014 - Fallin vs. Dorman
Poll Mary Fallin * (R) Joe Dorman (D)Other/UndecidedMargin of errorSample size
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
October 16-23, 2014		 56%32%12%+/-5995
YouGov
August 18-September 2, 2014		 53%35%18%+/-5821
News9/SoonerPoll
August 28-30, 2014		 50%32%18%+/-4603
Sooner Survey
July 20-25. 2014		 44%31%26%+/-4.3500
Rasmussen Reports
July 15-16, 2014		 45%40%15%+/-4750
AVERAGES 49.6% 34% 17.8% +/-4.46 733.8
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.

Past elections

2010

Governor of Oklahoma, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMary Fallin 60.4% 625,506
     Democratic Jari Askins 39.6% 409,261
Total Votes 1,034,767
Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board

2006

Governor of Oklahoma, 2006
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBrad Henry 66.5% 616,135
     Republican Ernest Istook 33.5% 310,327
Total Votes 926,462
Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board

Voter turnout

Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.[18] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.[19]

Quick facts

  • According to PBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.[20]
  • Forty-three states and the District of Columbia did not surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.
  • The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis were Texas (28.3 percent), Tennessee (28.6 percent), and Indiana (28.8 percent).
  • Maine (58.5 percent), Wisconsin (56.5 percent), and Colorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.
  • Twelve states increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.[21]

Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $6,444,980 during the election. This information was last updated on April 25, 2015.[22]

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate Office Result Contributions
Mary FallinRepublican Party Oklahoma Governor Won $5,690,189
Joe DormanDemocratic Party Oklahoma Governor Defeated $725,122
Chad MoodyRepublican Party Oklahoma Governor Defeated $21,940
Richard PrawdzienskiGrey.png Oklahoma Governor Defeated $3,975
Dax EwbankRepublican Party Oklahoma Governor Defeated $3,754
Kimberly WillisGrey.png Oklahoma Governor Defeated $0
Grand Total Raised $6,444,980

Key deadlines

Deadline Event
April 11, 2014 Filing deadline for all candidates[23]
June 24, 2014 Primary election
August 26, 2014 Runoff primary election
November 4, 2014 General election
January 12, 2015 Inauguration day for state executive officials elected in November

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Oklahoma + governor + elections"

Oklahoma Gubernatorial Election News Feed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board Website, "Voter Registration in Oklahoma," accessed April 27, 2023
  2. ↑ Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform, "Governor Mary Fallin Has Made Moves Toward A Re-election Bid; Who Will Oppose Her?" July 10, 2013
  3. ↑ Tulsa World, "Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin kicks off re-election campaign," October 18, 2013
  4. ↑ KFOR, "Rep. Joe Dorman to explore run for governor," December 17, 2013
  5. ↑ Oklahomans For Ballot Access Reform, "Richard Prawdzienski Announces Independent Bid For Governor’s Seat," February 25, 2014
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Oklahoma State Election Board, "Candidates for Federal, State, Legislative and Judicial Offices," April 14, 2014
  7. ↑ KJRH Tulsa, "Guilty plea disqualifies independent candidate Joe Sills from Oklahoma governor race," April 21, 2014
  8. ↑ Tulsa World, "Randy Brogdon to make another run for governor," December 30, 2013
  9. ↑ NewsOK, "Randy Brogdon dissolves Oklahoma gubernatorial race corporation," February 20, 2014
  10. ↑ RJ Harris, "RJ Harris for Oklahoma Governor," August 8, 2013
  11. ↑ NewsOK, "R.J. Harris, Democratic candidate for Oklahoma governor, drops out of race," January 23, 2014
  12. ↑ The Washington Post, "Mary Fallin, crisis governor," May 1, 2014
  13. ↑ Joe Dorman for Oklahoma, "Issues," accessed June 6, 2014
  14. ↑ NewsOn6, "Governor Fallin Signs Bill To Repeal, Replace Common Core Standards," June 5, 2014
  15. ↑ Rasmussen Reports, "Election 2014: Oklahoma Governor," July 18, 2014
  16. ↑ KGOU, "Mary Fallin In A Close Contest With Joe Dorman For Reelection," July 19, 2014
  17. ↑ Oklahoma News9, "EXCLUSIVE POLL: Fallin Leads Dorman In Race For Governor, But Many Voters Undecided," September 4, 2014
  18. ↑ United States Elections Project, "2014 November General Election Turnout Rates," November 7, 2014
  19. ↑ TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014
  20. ↑ PBS, "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years," November 10, 2014
  21. ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Midterm Turnout Down in 2014," November 5, 2014
  22. ↑ Follow the Money, "Overview of Oklahoma 2014 elections," accessed May 7, 2015
  23. ↑ Oklahoma Secretary of State, "2014 Statewide Elections," January 3, 2014
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