Mortgage broker Kevin Stitt will be the Republican nominee for governor of Oklahoma after winning a tough-fought runoff Tuesday, outlasting several more experienced politicians in his first run for public office.
Stitt took 55 percent of the vote, with 79 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday. Former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett (R) took 45 percent of the vote. The Associated Press called the race for Stitt.
Cornett led a crowded field of Republicans in the June primary with 29 percent of the vote. Stitt took 24 percent, edging out Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb (R), who finished third.{mosads}
Stitt will now face Drew Edmondson, the Democratic nominee who served four terms as the state’s attorney general, and Libertarian candidate Chris Powell.
Edmondson represents perhaps the strongest candidate Democrats could have fielded, though he will remain an underdog in a state President Trump won by 36 percentage points in 2016.
Gov. Mary Fallin (R) is term-limited.
Though Oklahoma is deeply conservative, the state has a long history of electing conservative Democrats. Since 1971, five of the state’s eight governors have been Democrats, including Fallin’s predecessor, Brad Henry.