The candidates again defended two of the campaign’s biggest controversies — Mike Mazzei’s change in position on the proposed Inola aluminum smelter and Gentner Drummond’s decision to sue after the project’s final air permit application was filed.
OKLAHOMA CITY — One of the most revealing moments in Monday night’s Republican gubernatorial debate wasn’t simply the candidates’ disagreement over the proposed aluminum smelter near Inola. It was that the discussion returned to two questions that have shadowed both campaigns for months — and largely reinforced the competing explanations each campaign has offered throughout the race.
The debate, presented by the Oklahoma Hospital Association and televised statewide by Griffin Media, was moderated by Craig Day and Amanda Taylor. During one exchange, Day repeatedly asked Mazzei why he had changed from calling the project a “billion dollar scam” in January and criticizing its incentive package in March to publicly supporting it on May 29, just hours before President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
During the debate, Mazzei defended the project as an economic development opportunity important to national security and repeatedly cited Trump’s support, but did not elaborate on what prompted his change in position. OK Politics Today previously documented that timeline.
Timing questions dominated the Inola discussion
Attorney General Gentner Drummond faced a similar question about timing.
Throughout the campaign, supporters of the project and Mazzei’s campaign have argued Drummond waited until the middle of the gubernatorial race to file his lawsuit challenging the smelter rather than acting sooner in the permitting process. During the debate, Drummond again defended the decision, saying he waited until the company’s final air permit application had been filed because earlier legal action would have been premature.
The exchange highlighted a central theme of the campaign: both candidates spent part of the debate defending the timing of decisions they made months earlier.
Mazzei’s public record shows a clear evolution. On Jan. 29, he posted a Facebook video calling the proposed smelter a “billion dollar scam.” During a March 30 gubernatorial debate, he again questioned the project’s incentive package. By May 29, he publicly endorsed the development, citing its importance to national security and domestic manufacturing before receiving President Donald Trump’s endorsement later that day.
Likewise, Drummond has consistently argued he filed his lawsuit only after the company submitted its final air permit application because he believed that was the appropriate point for legal action. His critics contend the timing was politically motivated, a characterization he has repeatedly rejected.
Monday night’s debate gave Republican voters an opportunity to hear both candidates defend those decisions side by side. It also underscored that one of the campaign’s defining issues remains less about whether the Inola smelter should be built than about the timing of each candidate’s most consequential decision on the issue.
Watch the debate: A recording of Monday night’s debate is available on the News 9 website.
