Philip Matthew Pinnell (born August 15, 1979) is an American politician serving as the 17th lieutenant governor of Oklahoma, since 2019. Pinnell is also serving as the first Oklahoma Secretary of Tourism & Branding. Pinnell is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and career

Pinnell graduated from Metro Christian Academy in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, and

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a private evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, evangelist Oral Roberts. Sitting on a campus, ORU offers over 70 undergraduate degree programs ...

. He served as chairman of the

Oklahoma Republican Party The Oklahoma Republican Party is the Oklahoma state affiliate of the Republican Party (GOP). Along with the Oklahoma Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties in the state. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling ...

from 2010 to 2013. He then worked for the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

as the National State Party Director. Pinnell also worked on a campaign for former Oklahoma Attorney General

Scott Pruitt Edward Scott Pruitt (born May 9, 1968) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma. He served as the fourteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from February 17, 2017, to Jul ...

Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma

On April 20, 2017, Pinnell announced his candidacy for the office of lieutenant governor. On June 26, 2018, Pinnell finished in the top two in the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, and he and

Dana Murphy Dana Murphy is an American politician who served as a member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission from 2009 to 2023. Murphy was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in the 2018 election. Career Murphy defeated Democrat Jim Roth, w ...

advanced to a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

, in which Pinnell defeated Murphy. Pinnell defeated Democratic candidate

Anastasia Pittman Anastasia A. Pittman (born July 19, 1970) is an American politician from the state of Oklahoma. She represented the 99th district in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, as a member of the Democratic Party. Pittman served in the House from 20 ...

in the lieutenant gubernatorial election on November 6. Pinnell was sworn in on January 14, 2019. On January 18, 2019, Governor Kevin Stitt selected Pinnell to serve as the first Oklahoma Secretary of Tourism and Branding, wherein he oversees the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation. Stitt separated the departments of Tourism and Commerce to be their own stand-alone agencies.

Personal life

Pinnell and his wife, Lisa, have four children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinnell, Matt 1979 births Lieutenant Governors of Oklahoma Living people 21st-century American politicians Oklahoma Republican Party chairs Oral Roberts University alumni Politicians from Enid, Oklahoma Political campaign staff