New post-Trump endorsement poll: Mazzei on top of Gov race, Merrick into 3rd

The first publicly-released opinion poll since President Donald Trump endorsed Republican candidate Mike Mazzei finds the former state senator (unsurprisingly) taking the lead, with Attorney General Gentner Drummond falling into second, and perhaps more surprisingly, former state senator Jake Merrick jumping into third over significantly more well-funded candidates, albeit a somewhat distant third. The same poll finds U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern with a massive lead in the race for U.S. Senate.

Here are the results from JMC Analytics:

Candidate filing concludes - with some surprises

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.

Chip Keating releases campaign launch video: "Oklahoma is at a crossroads"

McCall, Drummond, Mazzei, Merrick, and now Keating... this GOP gubernatorial field is getting more crowded and interesting as we draw closer to the end of the year. The real campaigning will intensify in the early months of 2026 leading up to the June 16th primary election.

Chip Keating Launches Campaign Announcement Video: “Oklahoma is at a Crossroads”

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 28th) - Conservative businessman, former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper, and former Secretary of Public Safety Chip Keating today released his official campaign announcement video, “Oklahoma is at a Crossroads.”

In the video, Keating calls for bold, conservative leadership to protect Oklahoma families, strengthen the state’s economy, and defend Oklahoma values against the radical left and career politicians.

Jake Merrick joins GOP race for Governor

The 2026 GOP race for Governor continues to grow, this time with conservative former state senator Jake Merrick joining this race this week:

Jake Merrick Announces Campaign for Governor of Oklahoma

Yukon, OK (April 29th) — Jake Merrick, former Oklahoma State Senator, current host of The Jake Merrick Show on Freedom 96.9, local business owner, devoted husband, and father, is letting the state of Oklahoma know that he will officially be entering the race for Governor of Oklahoma in April of 2026. With unwavering resolve to chart a visionary new course and determination to run a race free from any appearance of corruption, Merrick has boldly chosen not to accept campaign donations at this time, and he will not be accepting funds from political action committees (PACs) or organizations at all. This decision reflects his dedication to maintaining his platform as a radio host while also ensuring his campaign remains free from special interest influence.

Hamilton, legislators question legality of self-induced abortions in Oklahoma

These are legislators with depth of conviction and principle when it comes to protecting the preborn.

Hamilton questions legality of self-induced abortions in Oklahoma 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, has requested that Attorney General John O’Connor provide an official legal opinion related to self-induced abortions. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year, a letter sent in October urged the state’s chief legal and law enforcement official to answer whether or not at-home abortions are a crime in Oklahoma.

Sen. Jake Merrick: "Does Dark Money Rule in Oklahoma?"

Answer: unfortunately, yes. The power-hungry corporate and political establishment in this state thrives on the secrecy, ambiguity, and deniability of "dark money". It's how they win campaigns now, putting in squishy moderates and ousting staunchly conservative legislators.

Freshman GOP State Senator Jake Merrick (one of the most conservative members in the Legislature) poses this question in a recent column, after outlandishly false attacks on him triggered by his vote against the "school choice" bill, SB 1647, earlier this year. As I've posted previously, the homeschool community in particular had great concerns with the legislation, and some legislative conservatives concurred. 

Perhaps of note, Merrick is one of the few members of the legislature that is an abortion abolitionist, believing that abortion should totally and completely abolished in all forms, not merely regulated... extra reason for the political establishment to hate him.

Does Dark Money Rule in Oklahoma?

written by State Sen. Jake Merrick (R-Yukon)

What is "Dark Money"?

State legislators file resolution to recognize day of mourning for aborted babies

Resolution filed to recognize day of mourning for aborted babies

OKLAHOMA CITY – Since the U.S. Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973, more than 62 million abortions have been performed. To mourn the loss of those precious lives, Sen. Jake Merrick, R-Yukon, and Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader, R-Piedmont, have filed Senate Concurrent Resolution 14.

“It’s a common practice in our country to have special days or fly flags at half-staff to mourn the loss of great Americans,” Merrick said. “We want to do both in recognition and honor of the millions of children whose freedoms and lives have been taken from them so brutally. They’ll never have the opportunity to be great because they’ll never get to pursue their dreams or fulfill their destinies. For that tremendous loss, we will take time on the anniversary of that awful day when abortion was made legal to mourn their sweet souls.”

SCR 14 seeks to recognize Jan. 22 as the Day of Tears in Oklahoma and encourage Oklahomans to lower their flags to half-staff in mourning of the infant lives lost.