After failing to gain ground against Senate leadership in the GOP primaries, the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus now finds itself on defense as one of its own members faces a potentially difficult August runoff.
YUKON – The Oklahoma Senate’s Republican civil war is headed into overtime after Sen. Jack Stewart, R-Yukon, failed to secure an outright majority in last week’s GOP primary and was forced into an Aug. 25 runoff in Senate District 18.
Stewart, a Freedom Caucus member, led the three-way Republican primary with nearly 46% of the vote. Challenger Tyler Herring finished with about 35%, while candidate Misty Shannon garnered roughly 19%, denying Stewart the majority needed to avoid a runoff.
Stewart and Herring will now advance to the Aug. 25 Republican runoff.
The contest sets up another chapter in the intraparty power struggle that has increasingly defined Republican politics in the Oklahoma Senate.
During the primary season, the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus backed challengers against seven incumbent Republican senators viewed as aligned with Senate leadership and Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton. All seven incumbents survived their primaries, denying the caucus any immediate gains in the Senate.
Now, attention is shifting to districts where Freedom Caucus members themselves face runoff elections.
Stewart entered the race with significant financial resources. Campaign finance reports show his campaign had more than $45,000 in cash on hand before the primary election, giving him resources to mount a runoff campaign.
Herring, meanwhile, mounted an increasingly well-funded challenge. Campaign finance reports show he raised more than $60,000 before the primary, much of it through personal loans to his campaign. He and his wife, Brittany Adkins-Herring, added another $10,000 loan during the final week before the election.
Herring also attracted late support from several Oklahoma City-area donors and received a contribution from the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber PAC shortly before the election, a sign that interests outside Senate District 18 are paying attention to the race.
Stewart’s campaign received a late $2,000 contribution from the campaign committee of Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, a Freedom Caucus ally who has been mentioned as a potential successor to Paxton.
The outcome leaves Stewart in the position of defending his seat in a low-turnout summer runoff that may become the next proxy battle over the Freedom Caucus’ influence in the Oklahoma Senate.
The winner of the Aug. 25 Republican runoff will advance to the Nov. 3 general election, where Democrat Meredith McGinnis has already secured a place on the ballot.
