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Presidential election in Oklahoma, 2016
| Oklahoma |
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| General election in Oklahoma |
| Date: November 8, 2016 2016 winner: Donald Trump Electoral votes: Seven 2012 winner: Mitt Romney (R) |
| Democratic Primary |
| Date: March 1, 2016 Winner: Bernie Sanders |
| Republican Primary |
| Date: March 1, 2016 Winner: Ted Cruz |
| Down ballot races in Oklahoma |
| U.S. Senate U.S. House State executives Oklahoma State Senate Oklahoma House of Representatives Oklahoma judicial elections Oklahoma local judicial elections State ballot measures Municipal elections Recalls Click here for more elections in Oklahoma |
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Oklahoma held an election for the president of the United States on November 8, 2016. The Democratic and Republican parties held primary elections for president on March 1, 2016.
General election candidates and results
Candidates
The candidate list below is based on an email exchange between Ballotpedia and a public information officer for the Oklahoma State Election Board on September 19, 2016. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were provided to Ballotpedia—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November.
Presidential candidates on the ballot in Oklahoma
- ☑ Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)
- ☐ Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian)
- ☐ Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
Results
| U.S. presidential election, Oklahoma, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 28.9% | 420,375 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
65.3% | 949,136 | 7 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 5.7% | 83,481 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 1,452,992 | 7 | |||
| Election results via: Oklahoma State Election Board | |||||
Historical election trends
- See also: Presidential election accuracy
Below is an analysis of Oklahoma's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.
Presidential election voting record in Oklahoma, 1904-2016
Between 1904 and 2016:
- Oklahoma participated in 29 presidential elections. Its first was in 1904.
- Oklahoma voted for the winning presidential candidate 72.41 percent of the time.
- Oklahoma voted Democratic 34.48 percent of the time and Republican 65.52 percent of the time.
Third party votes
In 1960, Harry F. Byrd (D), running against Richard Nixon (R) and John F. Kennedy (D), took six unpledged electoral votes in Alabama and one in Oklahoma. He did win Mississippi with eight electoral votes.[1][2]
Presidential election voting record in Oklahoma, 2000-2016
- Accuracy: 60 percent[3]
- 2000 state winner: George W. Bush (R)*
- 2004 state winner: George W. Bush (R)*
- 2008 state winner: John McCain (R)
- 2012 state winner: Mitt Romney (R)
- 2016 state winner: Donald Trump (R)*
*An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.
Electoral votes
- See also: Electoral College
The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in the Electoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.
Oklahoma electors
In 2016, Oklahoma had seven electoral votes. Oklahoma's share of electoral votes represented 1.3 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 2.6 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president.
"Faithless electors"
The U.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as "faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.
Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[4][5]
Oklahoma was one of 31 states in 2016—including the District of Columbia—with a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.
Down ballot races
- See also: Oklahoma elections, 2016
Below is a list of down ballot races in Oklahoma covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.
- U.S. Senate - Incumbent: James Lankford (R)
- U.S. House
- State executives
- Oklahoma State Senate
- Oklahoma House of Representatives
- Oklahoma judicial elections
- Oklahoma local judicial elections
- State ballot measures
- Municipal elections
- Recalls
Primary election
Quick facts
Democrats:
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Republicans
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*The Oklahoma GOP includes a provision in its nominating rules allowing any candidate who wins 50 percent of the vote cast within the state or each of the congressional districts to receive all of the state’s at-large and congressional district delegates. For more on this provision, see here.
Democrats
Bernie Sanders won the 2016 Oklahoma Democratic primary with nearly 52 percent of the vote.[6] Hillary Clinton was unable to recreate her 2008 win over Barack Obama in Oklahoma, losing to Sanders by approximately 10 points. According to exit polls from CNN, Sanders outperformed Clinton with men and voters 44 years of age or younger. He also won 73 percent of first-time voters. Clinton outperformed Sanders with African-Americans and voters with postgraduate education and incomes over $200,000.[7]
Republicans
Ted Cruz won the 2016 Oklahoma Republican primary with 34.4 percent of the vote.[6] Although Donald Trump was leading in polls of likely Republican voters in Oklahoma the week prior to the primary contest, he came in second with 28.3 percent.[8] Marco Rubio was a close third with 26 percent. According to CNN exit polls, Cruz won with men, women, voters of all age groups and self-identified conservatives.[9]
2016 primary results
Democrats
| Oklahoma Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
| Hillary Clinton | 41.5% | 139,443 | 17 | |
| Bernie Sanders |
51.9% | 174,228 | 21 | |
| Michael A. Steinberg | 1.2% | 4,171 | 0 | |
| Keith Judd | 1.3% | 4,386 | 0 | |
| Roque De La Fuente | 0.7% | 2,485 | 0 | |
| Martin O'Malley | 2.3% | 7,672 | 0 | |
| Star Locke | 1% | 3,458 | 0 | |
| Totals | 335,843 | 38 | ||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board and CNN | ||||
Republicans
| Oklahoma Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
| Donald Trump | 28.3% | 130,267 | 13 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.4% | 1,666 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0.1% | 610 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 26% | 119,633 | 12 | |
| Rick Santorum | 0.1% | 375 | 0 | |
| Ted Cruz |
34.4% | 158,078 | 15 | |
| Jeb Bush | 0.5% | 2,091 | 0 | |
| Chris Chrisie | 0.1% | 545 | 0 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 0.3% | 1,308 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 6.2% | 28,601 | 0 | |
| Lindsey Graham | 0% | 224 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 3.6% | 16,524 | 0 | |
| Totals | 459,922 | 40 | ||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board and CNN | ||||
Candidate list
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Polls
Democratic primary
 Democratic Party presidential primary polling (Oklahoma) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Hillary Clinton | Bernie Sanders | Unsure or Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size | ||||||||||||||
| Monmouth University February 25-28, 2016 | 43% | 48% | 9% | +/-5.7 | 300 | ||||||||||||||
| News9/Newson6 February 23-25, 2016 | 40% | 31% | 29% | +/-4.3 | 510 | ||||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling February 14-16, 2016 | 46% | 44% | 9% | +/-4.2 | 542 | ||||||||||||||
| The Oklahoman February 6-9, 2016 | 41.5% | 28.1% | 28.1% | +/-5.01 | 360 | ||||||||||||||
| News 9/News on 6 November 12-15, 2015 | 46.6% | 12.2% | 41.3% | +/-5.1 | 369 | ||||||||||||||
| The Oklahoman October 19-22, 2015 | 30% | 21% | 48% | +/-4.3 | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. 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. | |||||||||||||||||||
Republican primary
 Republican Party presidential primary polling (Oklahoma) |
|||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Donald Trump | Ted Cruz | Marco Rubio | Ben Carson | John Kasich | Jeb Bush | Unsure or Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size | ||||||||||
| Monmouth University February 25-28, 2016 | 35% | 23% | 22% | 7% | 8% | 0% | 5% | +/-4.9 | 403 | ||||||||||
| News9/Newson6 February 23-25, 2016 | 34% | 18% | 21% | 9% | 6% | 0% | 12% | +/-4.2 | 540 | ||||||||||
| The Oklahoman February 22-23, 2016 | 29% | 20% | 21% | 6% | 5% | 0% | 19% | +/-4.9 | 400 | ||||||||||
| The Oklahoman February 6-9, 2016 | 30% | 25% | 21% | 5.7% | 3% | 5% | 10.3% | +/-4.81 | 414 | ||||||||||
| News 9/News on 6 November 12-15, 2015 | 27.1% | 18.3% | 16.3% | 17.5% | <1% | 2.2% | 35% | +/-5.1 | 389 | ||||||||||
| The Oklahoman October 19-22, 2015 | 19% | 7% | 9% | 25% | 2% | 3% | 35% | +/-4.3 | 500 | ||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. 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. | |||||||||||||||||||
Delegates
Delegate selection
Democratic Party
Oklahoma had 42 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 38 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.[11][12]
Four party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[11][13]
Oklahoma superdelegates
Republican Party
Oklahoma had 43 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 15 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's five congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 15 percent of the district vote in order to be eligible to receive any of that district's delegates. If only one candidate broke the 15 percent threshold, he or she received all of the district's delegates. If two candidates broke this threshold, the highest vote-getter received two delegates and the second-place finisher received one delegate. If three or more candidates received more than 15 percent of the vote in a congressional district, the top three candidates each received one of the district's delegates. If a candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in a district, he or she received all of the district's delegates.[14][15]
Of the remaining 28 delegates, 25 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 15 percent of the statewide primary vote in order to be eligible to receive any at-large delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide vote, he or she received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[14][15]
Presidential voting history
Oklahoma presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 10 Democratic wins
- 20 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | N/A | N/A | D | D | D | R | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
State profile
| 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. | ||
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
- Elections in Oklahoma
- United States congressional delegations from Oklahoma
- Public policy in Oklahoma
- Endorsers in Oklahoma
- Oklahoma fact checks
- More...
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, "Electoral Votes, 1960," accessed June 21, 2016
- ↑ University of California Santa Barbara, "The American Presidency Project, Election of 1960," accessed June 22, 2016
- ↑ This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
- ↑ Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The New York Times, "Oklahoma Primary Results," March 1, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Oklahoma Exit Polls," March 1, 2016
- ↑ RealClearPolitics, "Oklahoma Republican Presidential Primary," accessed March 1, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Oklahoma Exit Polls," March 1, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Oklahoma State Election Board, "2016 Presidential Preferential Primary Candidates," December 9, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
- ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
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