Incumbent Superintendent defeated in primary: Oklahoma state executive primary elections review
June 25, 2014
| June 25, 2014 Primary Recap |
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By Garrett Fortin
The 2014 Oklahoma primary elections were held on June 24, 2014. Of the four contested primaries for statewide executive offices, only the Democratic nomination for superintendent will be decided in a primary runoff on August 26. The biggest event of the night, though, was the overwhelming victory of Joy Hofmeister, a Republican candidate for superintendent, over the incumbent, Janet Barresi. Hofmeister won more than 50% of the vote and avoided a runoff while pushing Barresi into third place behind another candidate, Brian S. Kelly.
Oklahoma Governor
- See also: Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 2014
Incumbent Republican Mary Fallin easily defeated two primary challengers. She will face Democrat Joe Dorman in November, as well as two independent candidates: Richard Prawdzienski and Kimberly Willis.
| Governor of Oklahoma, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Mary 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. | ||||
Oklahoma down ballot offices
The superintendent race was the big state executive race of the night. As in other superintendent races across the country, the national debate over the Common Core educational benchmarks has inspired many candidates to throw their hat in the ring to challenge the incumbent, Republican Janet Barresi. This issue gained prominence when Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed a law repealing Common Core standards in Oklahoma, becoming one of the only states to take such a step.[1]
Barresi faced a serious challenge in the primary: one challenger, educator Joy Hofmeister, out-raised Barresi. While Hofmeister had raised almost $1.5 million as of June 9, Barresi has only kept pace by loaning money - over $1.25 million - to her campaign.[2][3] Both Barresi and Hofmeister, along with most of the other superintendent candidates in both parties, are currently opposed to Common Core and have been trying to pin its implementation on one another in ads.[4] In a debate on June 17 that included Hofmeister and the Democratic candidates, all of the candidates expressed opposition to Common Core and support for a change in educational culture.[5] In total, there were three Republicans and four Democrats contesting the superintendent primaries on June 24.
- Superintendent
- Joy Hofmeister defeated Janet Barresi in the Republican primary, receiving enough votes to avoid a runoff, and will face the winner of the Democratic runoff.
| Oklahoma Superintendent, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Joy Hofmeister |
57.6% | 151,124 | ||
| Brian S. Kelly | 21.4% | 56,060 | ||
| Janet Barresi | 21% | 55,048 | ||
| Total Votes | 262,232 | |||
| Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board. | ||||
| Oklahoma Superintendent, Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| John Cox |
41% | 68,889 | ||
| Freda Deskin |
38.2% | 64,135 | ||
| Jack Herron | 13.3% | 22,335 | ||
| Ivan Holmes | 7.4% | 12,504 | ||
| Total Votes | 167,863 | |||
| Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board. | ||||
- Insurance Commissioner
- Incumbent John Doak defeated challenger Bill Viner and, with no opposition from other parties, has secured re-election.
| Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| John Doak |
77.5% | 189,893 | ||
| Bill Viner | 22.5% | 55,173 | ||
| Total Votes | 245,066 | |||
| Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board. | ||||
- Corporation Commissioner
- In the race for this open seat, Todd Hiett defeated Cliff Branan and faces no opposition from other parties.
| Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Todd Hiett |
52.2% | 128,173 | ||
| Cliff Branan | 47.8% | 117,169 | ||
| Total Votes | 245,342 | |||
| Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board. | ||||
See also
- Oklahoma state executive elections (overview):
External links
Footnotes
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- ↑ NewsOn6, "Governor Fallin Signs Bill To Repeal, Replace Common Core Standards," June 5, 2014
- ↑ The Oklahoman, "Challenger for Oklahoma schools superintendent position out-raises opponent in campaign funds," November 2, 2013
- ↑ NewsOK, "Oklahoma state schools superintendent loans campaign almost $1 million in last month," June 18, 2014
- ↑ The Oklahoman, "Barresi campaign says rival would deprive Oklahoma children with special needs of education opportunities," June 5, 2014
- ↑ Tulsa World, "State superintendent candidates, minus Barresi, meet in Owasso forum," June 18, 2014
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