Oklahoma Labor Commissioner election, 2018

	2022 → ← 2014
Oklahoma Labor Commissioner
Election details
	Filing deadline: April 13, 2018
	Primary: June 26, 2018; Primary runoff: August 28, 2018 (if needed); General: November 6, 2018; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Melissa McLawhorn Houston (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Oklahoma
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2018; Impact of term limits in 2018; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
Oklahoma; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant governor; Attorney general; Treasurer; Auditor; Insurance commissioner; Labor commissioner; Superintendent of public instruction; Corporation commissioner

Oklahoma held an election for labor commissioner on November 6, 2018. A Republican primary runoff election was held on August 28, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was April 13, 2018.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor

Leslie Osborn defeated Fred Dorrell and Brandt Dismukes in the general election for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Leslie Osborn (R)	61.7	717,765
		Fred Dorrell (D)	33.5	389,249
	Submit photo	Brandt Dismukes (Independent)	4.8	55,823

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,162,837 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor

Leslie Osborn defeated Cathy Costello in the Republican primary runoff for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Leslie Osborn	52.3	151,766
	Submit photo	Cathy Costello	47.7	138,181

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 289,947
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor

Fred Dorrell defeated Sam Mis-Soum in the Democratic primary for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor on June 26, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Fred Dorrell	73.4	269,605
	Sam Mis-Soum	26.6	97,544

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 367,149
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor

Cathy Costello and Leslie Osborn advanced to a runoff. They defeated Keith Swinton in the Republican primary for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Cathy Costello	43.3	181,657
✔		Leslie Osborn	35.9	150,847
		Keith Swinton	20.8	87,446

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 419,950
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Oklahoma heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

Following the 2016 elections, Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in Oklahoma.
Republicans held four of five U.S. House seats in Oklahoma, the remaining seat was vacated in April 2018 by Republican Jim Bridenstine.

State executives

As of September 2018, Republicans held 11 of 12 state executive positions. The remaining position was officially nonpartisan.
The governor of Oklahoma was Republican Mary Fallin. The state held elections for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018.

State legislature

Republicans controlled both chambers of the Oklahoma State Legislature. They had a 72-27 majority in the state House and a 38-8 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

Oklahoma was a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party controlled the office of the governor, the state House, and the state Senate.

2018 elections

See also: Oklahoma elections, 2018

Oklahoma held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Oklahoma
	Oklahoma	U.S.
Total population:	3,907,414	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	68,595	3,531,905
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.

As of July 2016, Oklahoma's three largest cities were Oklahoma City (pop. est. 643,648), Tulsa (pop. est. 401,800), and Norman (pop. est. 122,843).^[1]^[2]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Oklahoma from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Oklahoma State Election Board.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Oklahoma every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Oklahoma 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	65.3%	Hillary Clinton	28.9%	36.4%
2012	Mitt Romney	66.8%	Barack Obama	33.2%	33.6%
2008	John McCain	65.6%	Barack Obama	34.3%	31.3%
2004	George W. Bush	65.6%	John Kerry	34.4%	31.2%
2000	George W. Bush	60.3%	Al Gore	38.4%	21.9%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Oklahoma from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Oklahoma 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	James Lankford	67.7%	Mike Workman	24.6%	43.1%
2014	Jim Inhofe	68.0%	Matt Silverstein	28.5%	39.5%
2010	Tom Coburn	70.6%	Jim Rogers	26.1%	44.5%
2008	Jim Inhofe	56.7%	Andrew Rice	39.2%	17.5%
2004	Tom Coburn	52.8%	Brad Carson	41.2%	11.6%
2002	Jim Inhofe	57.3%	David Walters	36.3%	21.0%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Oklahoma.

Election results (Governor), Oklahoma 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Mary Fallin	55.8%	Joe Dorman	41.0%	14.8%
2010	Mary Fallin	60.4%	Jari Askins	39.6%	20.8%
2006	Brad Henry	66.5%	Ernest Istook	33.5%	33.0%
2002	Brad Henry	44.3%	Steve Largent	42.6%	1.7%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Oklahoma in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Oklahoma 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	5	100%	0	0%	R+5
2014	5	100%	0	0%	R+5
2012	5	100%	0	0%	R+5
2010	4	80%	1	20%	R+1
2008	4	80%	1	20%	R+1
2006	4	80%	1	20%	R+1
2004	4	80%	1	20%	R+1
2002	4	80%	1	20%	R+1
2000	5	83.3%	1	16.7%	R+1

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Oklahoma Party Control: 1992-2024
Five years of Democratic trifectas • Fourteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

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.^[3]^[4]

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.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin	Party Control
1	24.32%	75.68%	R+51.4	16.67%	80.81%	R+64.1	D
2	29.47%	70.53%	R+41.1	20.82%	76.06%	R+55.2	R
3	29.56%	70.44%	R+40.9	19.56%	76.82%	R+57.3	R
4	43.62%	56.38%	R+12.8	34.58%	58.79%	R+24.2	D
5	31.75%	68.25%	R+36.5	22.03%	74.09%	R+52.1	R
6	28.92%	71.08%	R+42.2	19.41%	76.14%	R+56.7	D
7	34.12%	65.88%	R+31.8	23.64%	72.17%	R+48.5	D
8	29.55%	70.45%	R+40.9	19.53%	75.61%	R+56.1	R
9	26.43%	73.57%	R+47.1	20.72%	73.96%	R+53.2	R
10	27.27%	72.73%	R+45.5	19.29%	75.83%	R+56.5	R
11	26.06%	73.94%	R+47.9	23.18%	70.49%	R+47.3	R
12	30.64%	69.36%	R+38.7	21.78%	73.34%	R+51.6	R
13	46.26%	53.74%	R+7.5	36.08%	59.48%	R+23.4	R
14	38.47%	61.53%	R+23.1	29.50%	65.07%	R+35.6	R
15	31.90%	68.10%	R+36.2	20.23%	75.99%	R+55.8	D
16	39.02%	60.98%	R+22	29.97%	65.84%	R+35.9	R
17	31.39%	68.61%	R+37.2	21.06%	74.60%	R+53.5	D
18	31.64%	68.36%	R+36.7	21.84%	73.83%	R+52	D
19	27.18%	72.82%	R+45.6	17.56%	79.47%	R+61.9	R
20	25.66%	74.34%	R+48.7	19.48%	75.42%	R+55.9	R
21	27.83%	72.17%	R+44.3	20.76%	75.19%	R+54.4	R
22	29.42%	70.58%	R+41.2	19.19%	76.84%	R+57.7	R
23	37.17%	62.83%	R+25.7	34.74%	59.77%	R+25	R
24	34.55%	65.45%	R+30.9	24.22%	71.24%	R+47	D
25	30.62%	69.38%	R+38.8	24.52%	70.33%	R+45.8	R
26	33.33%	66.67%	R+33.3	27.68%	65.11%	R+37.4	R
27	27.54%	72.46%	R+44.9	19.98%	74.47%	R+54.5	R
28	31.29%	68.71%	R+37.4	23.00%	72.55%	R+49.6	R
29	27.44%	72.56%	R+45.1	19.03%	76.45%	R+57.4	R
30	27.26%	72.74%	R+45.5	22.28%	72.41%	R+50.1	R
31	24.22%	75.78%	R+51.6	21.13%	72.89%	R+51.8	R
32	28.96%	71.04%	R+42.1	19.60%	75.11%	R+55.5	R
33	30.42%	69.58%	R+39.2	24.69%	68.50%	R+43.8	R
34	43.63%	56.37%	R+12.7	41.69%	47.73%	R+6	D
35	27.29%	72.71%	R+45.4	19.27%	75.77%	R+56.5	R
36	27.27%	72.73%	R+45.5	20.70%	74.80%	R+54.1	R
37	30.60%	69.40%	R+38.8	24.59%	70.14%	R+45.6	R
38	22.95%	77.05%	R+54.1	15.96%	79.29%	R+63.3	R
39	27.52%	72.48%	R+45	30.36%	61.83%	R+31.5	R
40	27.22%	72.78%	R+45.6	23.93%	69.43%	R+45.5	R
41	20.25%	79.75%	R+59.5	19.65%	74.25%	R+54.6	R
42	24.59%	75.41%	R+50.8	16.63%	79.04%	R+62.4	R
43	23.51%	76.49%	R+53	22.34%	70.39%	R+48.1	R
44	60.12%	39.88%	D+20.2	58.74%	32.02%	D+26.7	D
45	46.57%	53.43%	R+6.9	45.28%	45.98%	R+0.7	D
46	40.27%	59.73%	R+19.5	41.33%	51.65%	R+10.3	D
47	20.44%	79.56%	R+59.1	18.77%	75.26%	R+56.5	R
48	31.02%	68.98%	R+38	24.52%	71.34%	R+46.8	R
49	25.99%	74.01%	R+48	17.67%	78.58%	R+60.9	R
50	24.87%	75.13%	R+50.3	18.06%	78.21%	R+60.2	R
51	21.55%	78.45%	R+56.9	15.47%	80.44%	R+65	R
52	26.37%	73.63%	R+47.3	19.34%	76.19%	R+56.9	R
53	30.19%	69.81%	R+39.6	28.09%	64.20%	R+36.1	R
54	30.53%	69.47%	R+38.9	27.73%	64.36%	R+36.6	R
55	20.90%	79.10%	R+58.2	13.10%	82.88%	R+69.8	R
56	35.15%	64.85%	R+29.7	26.25%	68.53%	R+42.3	D
57	23.41%	76.59%	R+53.2	18.74%	75.79%	R+57.1	R
58	17.05%	82.95%	R+65.9	11.66%	83.28%	R+71.6	R
59	16.90%	83.10%	R+66.2	13.11%	83.23%	R+70.1	R
60	27.03%	72.97%	R+45.9	21.85%	72.52%	R+50.7	R
61	13.07%	86.93%	R+73.9	11.23%	84.53%	R+73.3	R
62	48.97%	51.03%	R+2.1	44.21%	50.19%	R+6	R
63	35.33%	64.67%	R+29.3	27.60%	67.41%	R+39.8	R
64	44.83%	55.17%	R+10.3	39.78%	53.14%	R+13.4	R
65	27.73%	72.27%	R+44.5	19.27%	75.91%	R+56.6	R
66	36.00%	64.00%	R+28	31.50%	62.79%	R+31.3	R
67	24.45%	75.55%	R+51.1	27.75%	66.45%	R+38.7	R
68	31.36%	68.64%	R+37.3	28.26%	65.55%	R+37.3	R
69	24.16%	75.84%	R+51.7	25.05%	69.12%	R+44.1	R
70	38.78%	61.22%	R+22.4	41.95%	51.10%	R+9.2	R
71	46.54%	53.46%	R+6.9	49.59%	43.09%	D+6.5	R
72	64.07%	35.93%	D+28.1	57.75%	36.56%	D+21.2	D
73	89.78%	10.22%	D+79.6	85.51%	10.95%	D+74.6	D
74	23.76%	76.24%	R+52.5	21.80%	72.58%	R+50.8	R
75	36.45%	63.55%	R+27.1	36.07%	58.00%	R+21.9	D
76	29.23%	70.77%	R+41.5	29.60%	64.51%	R+34.9	R
77	46.33%	53.67%	R+7.3	42.71%	50.64%	R+7.9	D
78	46.33%	53.67%	R+7.3	47.44%	45.53%	D+1.9	D
79	36.43%	63.57%	R+27.1	38.62%	54.86%	R+16.2	R
80	22.50%	77.50%	R+55	22.26%	72.43%	R+50.2	R
81	30.71%	69.29%	R+38.6	32.57%	58.39%	R+25.8	R
82	28.67%	71.33%	R+42.7	32.14%	60.98%	R+28.8	R
83	37.63%	62.37%	R+24.7	41.87%	50.91%	R+9	R
84	34.99%	65.01%	R+30	34.26%	57.94%	R+23.7	R
85	38.90%	61.10%	R+22.2	43.24%	49.36%	R+6.1	D
86	33.30%	66.70%	R+33.4	22.16%	72.65%	R+50.5	D
87	44.55%	55.45%	R+10.9	45.90%	45.36%	D+0.5	D
88	62.10%	37.90%	D+24.2	62.41%	28.23%	D+34.2	D
89	59.05%	40.95%	D+18.1	57.41%	36.36%	D+21.1	D
90	39.90%	60.10%	R+20.2	35.95%	56.77%	R+20.8	R
91	26.81%	73.19%	R+46.4	27.93%	66.24%	R+38.3	R
92	58.72%	41.28%	D+17.4	54.66%	38.25%	D+16.4	D
93	42.09%	57.91%	R+15.8	43.18%	50.17%	R+7	D
94	47.76%	52.24%	R+4.5	43.29%	49.41%	R+6.1	D
95	41.84%	58.16%	R+16.3	37.94%	54.62%	R+16.7	R
96	24.15%	75.85%	R+51.7	21.91%	72.25%	R+50.3	R
97	74.13%	25.87%	D+48.3	69.20%	26.39%	D+42.8	D
98	25.49%	74.51%	R+49	23.71%	70.43%	R+46.7	R
99	81.48%	18.52%	D+63	76.46%	17.59%	D+58.9	D
100	36.62%	63.38%	R+26.8	38.23%	54.28%	R+16.1	R
101	32.40%	67.60%	R+35.2	27.61%	66.12%	R+38.5	R
Total	33.23%	66.77%	R+33.5	28.93%	65.32%	R+36.4	-
Source: Daily Kos

Recent news

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

Oklahoma Labor Commissioner election, 2018 - Google News

External links

Suggest a link

Oklahoma labor commissioner official website

Footnotes

[1] Oklahoma Demographics, "Oklahoma Cities by Population," accessed August 30, 2018

[2] U.S. Census Bureau, "Quickfacts Oklahoma," accessed August 30, 2018

[3] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013

[4] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017

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