Candidate filing for 2026 statewide, legislative, and judicial offices concluded yesterday, and boy were there some surprises.
First up, the official press release from the Oklahoma State Election Board, then a quick recap on the filing news:
Statement from Paul Ziriax, Secretary of the State Election Board RE: 2026 Candidate Filing
Oklahoma City, April 3rd — The 2026 Candidate Filing Period closed today – April 3, 2026 – at 5:00 p.m. The Secretary of the State Election Board announced that a total of 611 candidates filed for state, federal, legislative, or judicial office, making the 2026 Candidate Filing Period the second largest candidate filing period in the past 25 years. The largest occurred in 2018 when a total of 794 candidates filed for office.
