Tulsa, Oklahoma: Mike Mazzei Wins Governor Race as Cyndi Munson Concedes

Republican Mike Mazzei won the race for Oklahoma governor on Tuesday night, extending his party's hold on the state's highest office on a night when Republicans lost ground across much of the country. The Associated Press declared Mazzei the winner at 11:46 p.m. ET. With about 98 percent of precincts reporting, Mazzei had 569,779 votes, or 51.98 percent, to 502,736 votes, or 45.87 percent, for Democrat Cyndi Munson, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board count reported by Oklahoma Politics Today. Three independent candidates split the rest of the vote.

Mazzei declared victory at 10:20 p.m. CT at his watch party at the Arvest Convention Center in downtown Tulsa, where Gov. Kevin Stitt took the stage and announced him as the next governor. Munson conceded at 10:45 p.m. CT at her party in Oklahoma City and called Mazzei to congratulate him. "It's a tough night for Republicans across the country but thank the Lord for Oklahoma," Mazzei said as he declared victory. Earlier in the evening, the crowd at his party was asked to evacuate after a fire alarm went off at about 9:30 p.m., and supporters later returned.

A tax cut campaign, self funded

Mazzei, 61, is a Tulsa financial planner who served 12 years in the Oklahoma Senate, from 2004 to 2016, and later worked as Stitt's secretary of budget. He campaigned on a pledge to eliminate the state income tax, abolish the property tax for veterans and seniors, hire a statewide literacy director and create a state Department of Government Efficiency. He loaned his campaign more than $11 million of his own money, while Munson ran on less than $2 million. President Donald Trump endorsed Mazzei after Mazzei backed the proposed Emirates Global Aluminium smelter in Inola. Mazzei reached the general election by beating Attorney General Gentner Drummond in the August Republican runoff by 2,047 votes, 50.3 percent to Drummond's share.

Munson runs the strongest Democratic race in 20 years

Munson, 41, leads the Democrats in the Oklahoma House and represents Oklahoma City. She was the first Asian American woman elected to the Oklahoma Legislature. She is the first Democratic candidate for governor to win more than 43 percent of the vote since Brad Henry was reelected in 2006 with 66 percent. Munson led the early vote, by 24,950 votes among in-person early voters and by 11,759 among mail voters, but Mazzei built a 103,752 vote advantage in the Election Day returns. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me when so many people wouldn't," Munson told her supporters as she conceded.

What comes next

Mazzei succeeds Stitt, who was term limited, and Republicans swept every statewide office on the ballot and all six of Oklahoma's U.S. House and Senate seats, according to The Oklahoman. Former state House Speaker T.W. Shannon won the lieutenant governor race and will serve as Mazzei's second in command. Mazzei takes office with his party in full control of state government, and he has said the real work is policy, starting with an education system that ranks last in the nation. The results are unofficial until they are certified.