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Oklahoma Supreme Court elections, 2018

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2018 election dates
Deadline to file candidacy
April 13, 2018
General election
November 6, 2018
2018 State
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Oklahoma is one of two states with two courts of last resort. The Oklahoma Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the state for civil matters. The terms of three Oklahoma Supreme Court justices expired in January 2019. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort in the state for criminal matters. The terms of two Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals judges expired in January 2019. These justices had to stand for retention by voters in 2018 in order to remain on the bench.

Additionally, Supreme Court Justice Patrick Wyrick, appointed in February 2017, and Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Dana Kuehn, appointed in November 2017, had to stand for retention elections because they had served in their positions for 12 or more months by the general election date.[1][2]


Candidates and results

2018

Oklahoma Supreme Court District 7

James Edmondson was retained to District 7 of the Oklahoma Supreme Court on November 6, 2018 with 59.4% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
59.4
 
611,334
No
 
40.6
 
417,846
Total Votes
1,029,180

Oklahoma Supreme Court District 4

Yvonne Kauger was retained to District 4 of the Oklahoma Supreme Court on November 6, 2018 with 62.2% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
62.2
 
637,315
No
 
37.8
 
387,447
Total Votes
1,024,762

Oklahoma Supreme Court District 3

Noma D. Gurich was retained to District 3 of the Oklahoma Supreme Court on November 6, 2018 with 61.6% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
61.6
 
631,733
No
 
38.4
 
394,373
Total Votes
1,026,106

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals District 4

Scott Rowland was retained to District 4 of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on November 6, 2018 with 62.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
62.3
 
634,039
No
 
37.7
 
383,100
Total Votes
1,017,139

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals District 5

David B. Lewis was retained to District 5 of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on November 6, 2018 with 61.8% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
61.8
 
628,010
No
 
38.2
 
388,505
Total Votes
1,016,515

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals District 1

Dana Kuehn was retained to District 1 of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on November 6, 2018 with 64.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
Yes
 
64.3
 
656,819
No
 
35.7
 
364,338
Total Votes
1,021,157


About the Oklahoma Supreme Court

See also: Oklahoma Supreme Court

The Oklahoma Supreme Court is composed of nine justices who are appointed by the governor and then must stand for retention by voters thereafter. A full term on the court is six years. Retention elections take place during Oklahoma's general elections, which are held every two years in even-numbered years.

Political composition

This is the political composition of the Oklahoma Supreme Court heading into the 2018 election. Justices in Oklahoma are appointed by the governor and retained by voters thereafter. Justices James Edmondson, Yvonne Kauger, Tom Colbert, John Reif, Noma D. Gurich, and Douglas L. Combs were appointed by Democratic governors. Justices James R. Winchester, Patrick Wyrick, and Richard Darby were appointed by Republican governors.

John Reif Appointed by Brad Henry (D) in 2008
Tom Colbert Appointed by Brad Henry (D) in 2004
Douglas L. Combs Appointed by Brad Henry (D) in 2010
James Edmondson Appointed by Brad Henry (D) in 2003
Noma D. Gurich Appointed by Brad Henry (D) in 2011
Yvonne Kauger Appointed by George Nigh (D) in 1984
Patrick Wyrick Appointed by Mary Fallin (R) in 2017
Richard Darby Appointed by Mary Fallin (R) in 2018
James R. Winchester Appointed by Frank Keating (R) in 2000

About the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals

See also: Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is composed of five judges who are appointed by the governor and then must stand for retention by voters thereafter. A full term on the court is six years.

Political composition

This is the political composition of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals heading into the 2018 election. Judges in Oklahoma are appointed by the governor and retained by voters thereafter. Judges Gary Lumpkin, Arlene Johnson, and David B. Lewis were appointed by Democratic governors. Judge Rob Hudson was appointed by Republican governor Mary Fallin. Judge Carlene Clancy Smith was appointed by the state supreme court's then-Chief Justice James Edmondson. The chief justice appoints a judge if an appointment is not made by the governor within 60 days.

Gary Lumpkin Appointed by Henry Bellmon (R) in 1989
Arlene Johnson Appointed by Brad Henry (D) in 2005
David B. Lewis Appointed by Brad Henry (D) in 2005
Carlene Clancy Smith Appointed by Justice James Edmondson in 2010
Rob Hudson Appointed by Mary Fallin (R) in 2015

Selection

See also: Judicial selection in Oklahoma

The nine justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court are appointed by the governor from a list of three names compiled by a nominating commission and serve initial terms of at least one year.[3] If voters opt to retain an appointee during the next general election, that judge will go on to serve either a full six-year term or to serve out the unexpired term of his or her predecessor.[4]

State profile

Demographic data for Oklahoma
 OklahomaU.S.
Total population:3,907,414316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):68,5953,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:73.1%73.6%
Black/African American:7.2%12.6%
Asian:1.9%5.1%
Native American:7.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
Two or more:7.8%3%
Hispanic/Latino:9.6%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:86.9%86.7%
College graduation rate:24.1%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$46,879$53,889
Persons below poverty level:19.7%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Oklahoma.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Oklahoma

Oklahoma voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.


More Oklahoma coverage on Ballotpedia

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

There are no Pivot Counties in Oklahoma. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Oklahoma with 65.3 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 28.9 percent. In presidential elections between 1904 and 2016, Oklahoma voted for the winning presidential candidate 72.4 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Oklahoma supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 65.5 to 34.5 percent. The state favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Oklahoma. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[5][6]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 8 out of 101 state House districts in Oklahoma with an average margin of victory of 37.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 11 out of 101 state House districts in Oklahoma with an average margin of victory of 27.7 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 93 out of 101 state House districts in Oklahoma with an average margin of victory of 37.3 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 90 out of 101 state House districts in Oklahoma with an average margin of victory of 42.2 points. Trump won 18 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Oklahoma court elections' OR 'Oklahoma Supreme Court 2018' OR 'Oklahoma Supreme Court election'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

Oklahoma Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
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External links

Footnotes