Trump-backed candidate heads to runoff in GOP primary for Oklahoma governor

The Republican primary for governor of Oklahoma is heading to a runoff between Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and President Trump-backed rival Mike Mazzei, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Sparse polling ahead of the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) suggested that Drummond might have the edge in the crowded primary field, but Mazzei, a former state senator and state budget secretary, was boosted by a surprise endorsement from Trump in the days ahead of the primary.

Mazzei has pushed back against critics who questioned whether the nearly $70,000 his campaign paid to Trump confidante Roger Stone for consulting services factored into Trump’s decision.

“I think it’s incredibly bizarre and absurd for anyone to think that Donald Trump, President Donald Trump, doesn’t make his own decisions about who he wants to endorse,” Mazzei told KOCO5 News.

Drummond and Mazzei will face off in an Aug 25 primary runoff.

If Mazzei goes on to win in November, his victory will add to a heap of recent wins for Trump’s preferred candidates in contested primaries across the country. His endorsees ousted incumbent Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), as well as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)

The president, however, hit a snag earlier this month in Iowa when his pick for the open governor’s seat lost out.

A trio of Democrats were running in a primary across the aisle, but the winner of the GOP runoff is expected to be put on a glidepath to win the deep red seat this fall.

Oklahoma has picked a Republican governor every cycle for nearly three decades, Trump won the state in all three of his elections, and the GOP has total control of the party’s two Senate and five House seats.