School Freedom Fund Oklahoma targeted the attorney general over his opposition to a publicly funded Catholic charter school.
OKLAHOMA CITY — A Washington-based political group backed by Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass has spent $8.7 million trying to defeat Attorney General Gentner Drummond in Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial runoff.
School Freedom Fund Oklahoma reported $8,700,819.89 in independent expenditures through Wednesday, according to Oklahoma Ethics Commission filings. That is more than twice the $4.3 million campaign the group announced in May.
Most of the money paid for television, digital advertising, direct mail and production opposing Drummond. Since the June primary, the group has also reported expenditures supporting his runoff opponent, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei.
Religious charter school at center of campaign
The group connected its campaign to Drummond’s challenge of the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would have been the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.
Drummond argued that allowing a publicly funded Catholic charter school would open the door to taxpayer-funded schools teaching other religions, including what he called “radical Sharia law.” He also argued that St. Isidore violated the Oklahoma Constitution and state law prohibiting public support of religion.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed and invalidated the school’s state contract. An evenly divided U.S. Supreme Court left that ruling in place in 2025.
Bloomberg Government reported in May that School Freedom Fund Oklahoma planned to spend $4.3 million targeting Drummond over his opposition to St. Isidore.
“Gentner Drummond is an outspoken opponent of school freedom,” group President David McIntosh told Bloomberg Government, adding that the organization would “spend whatever it takes” to prevent Drummond from becoming governor.
Its advertisements have also attacked Drummond on issues unrelated to the religious-school dispute.
The Oklahoma organization is affiliated with Club for Growth Action and the national School Freedom Fund. Federal records show Yass gave the national fund $5 million on Feb. 3. It sent $10,000 to its Oklahoma affiliate on March 31.
State filings show the Oklahoma committee subsequently received five transfers totaling $3.55 million from Club for Growth Action between May 11 and June 8.
The Oklahoma committee and Club for Growth share a Washington address. McIntosh leads Club for Growth and chairs the state committee, whose treasurer uses a Club for Growth email address.
The filings tie the Oklahoma campaign to a political network heavily financed by Yass, but do not show that every dollar spent here came directly from him.
Funding sources remain undisclosed
Voters will not know the complete source of the group’s runoff money before Tuesday’s election.
School Freedom Fund Oklahoma reported having $413,738 on hand June 30 but has spent millions since then. Its rapid independent-expenditure reports disclose how that money is being used, but not its new receipts.
Those receipts are not due to be disclosed until the group files its third-quarter report Oct. 31.
Representatives of School Freedom Fund Oklahoma did not respond by deadline to questions about its funding and whether it expects to spend more before Tuesday’s runoff.
Yass-backed organizations also spent in Oklahoma legislative races and the Republican runoff for the state’s 2nd Congressional District in 2022, according to state and federal campaign-finance records.
The Republican gubernatorial runoff between Drummond and Mazzei is Tuesday.
