Results: Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt defeats Democrat Joy Hofmeister in Oklahoma's gubernatorial election

• Gov. Kevin Stitt ran against Democrat Joy Hofmeister in Oklahoma's gubernatorial race.
• In 2020, Oklahoma backed Trump over Biden by over 30 percentage points.

Republican incumbent Gov. Kevin Stitt defeated Democrat Joy Hofmeister in Oklahoma's gubernatorial election.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. EST.

Oklahoma's gubernatorial candidates

Stitt was elected as governor in 2018 and is finishing up his first term. Prior to his time in politics, he was the president, founder, and CEO of Gateway Mortgage Group. He's a member of the Cherokee Nation and is only the second governor in US history to be of Native descent.

Stitt ran a campaign focusing on the economy, improving Oklahoma's education system, and fiscal responsibility.

Hofmeister, Stitt's challenger, is the Oklahoma superintendent of public instruction, a role she's held since 2015. Hofmeister was previously registered as a Republican but flipped her registration in October 2021 around the time she declared her intention to run for governor.

She ran on a platform based on protecting access to abortion, investing in education, and fixing physical infrastructure in the state.

Oklahoma's voting history

Oklahoma backed former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden by a 33 percentage point margin of victory in 2020. The state has sided with Republicans over the past several decades and Trump's victory in 2020 marked the fifth consecutive election that the Republican nominee has won by over 30 percentage points.

What experts say

The race between Stitt and Hofmeister was rated as "likely Republican" by Inside Elections, "likely Republican" by The Cook Political Report, and "likely Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.