The 2010 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010, to elect the

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex of ...

. Due to term limits established by the Oklahoma Constitution, incumbent Democratic Governor Brad Henry could not seek re-election. The race had been hotly contested by both political parties, with several well-known Oklahomans announcing their candidacy up to two years before the election. This was the first time a woman challenged another woman for

. On November 2, 2010, Republican candidate

Mary Fallin Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She was the first and s ...

was elected in a landslide, defeating Democratic candidate

Jari Askins Jari Askins (born April 27, 1953) is an American judge, lawyer and Democratic politician from the US state of Oklahoma. She was the 15th lieutenant governor of Oklahoma, being the second woman and the first female Democratic Party member to hol ...

Overview

Democratic governor Brad Henry was easily re-elected in 2006 and maintained the highest approval rating of any state official in Oklahoma. In 2008, Republicans made gains in the state legislature and took control of both the House and the Senate for the first time in Oklahoma history. As both parties nominated female candidates (Jari Askins for the Democrats and Mary Fallin for the Republicans; both of whom have also previously held the office of lieutenant governor), and as no third-party or write-in candidate qualified for the ballot, Oklahoma was guaranteed its first ever female governor.

Democratic primary

Declared

, incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma *

Drew Edmondson William Andrew Edmondson (born October 12, 1946), known as Drew Edmondson, is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, Edmondson served as the 16th Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1995 t ...

, incumbent

Attorney General of Oklahoma The Attorney General of Oklahoma is the State Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. The attorney general serves as the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the State of Oklahoma and head of the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney Genera ...

Polling

Results

2010 Oklahoma gubernatorial Democratic primary

Republican primary

Declared

, former lieutenant governor and current Congresswoman for

Oklahoma's 5th congressional district Oklahoma's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It borders all of the other congressional districts in the state except the 1st district. It is densely populated and covers almost all of Oklahom ...

* Roger L. Jackson, retired businessman, former president of the Oklahoma Office Machine Dealers Association (OOMDA) *

Randy Brogdon Randall C. Brogdon (born June 17, 1953) is an American businessman and politician from the state of Oklahoma. He was a state senator for Oklahoma's 34th senate district from 2002 until 2011. Brogdon ran for governor of Oklahoma in 2010 on a platf ...

, state senator * Robert Hubbard, business owner of Piedmont, Oklahoma's "Hubbard Ranch Supply"Estus, John,
Oklahoma candidate filing period marks start of busy campaign season
, ''The Oklahoman'', May 31, 2010.

Declined

J. C. Watts Julius Caesar Watts Jr. (born November 18, 1957) is an American politician, clergyman, and athlete. Watts was a college football quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners and later played professionally in the Canadian Football League. He served in t ...

, former Congressman from

Oklahoma's 4th congressional district Oklahoma's 4th congressional district is located in south-central Oklahoma and covers (in whole or in part) a total of 15 counties. Its principal cities include Midwest City, Norman, Moore, Ada, Duncan, Lawton/Ft. Sill, and Ardmore. The dist ...

Mick Cornett Michael Earl Cornett Sr. (born July 16, 1958) is an American politician and former television personality who served as the 35th mayor of Oklahoma City, from 2005 until 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he was only the fourth mayor in Ok ...

, Mayor of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Polling

Results

2010 Oklahoma gubernatorial Republican primary

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

Askins carried only four counties: her home county of Stephens and neighboring Comanche,

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

, and

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

. While Fallin carried the rest of the state, her margins varied, ranging from narrow wins in much of

Eastern Oklahoma In the U.S. state of Oklahoma, Eastern Oklahoma is an amorphous area roughly defined as east of Oklahoma City and/or east of I-35. The Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation established regional designations for the various parts of the st ...

to a 66-point victory in staunchly Republican Beaver County. Mary Fallin was the first Republican to win

Atoka County Atoka County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,007. Its county seat is Atoka. The county was formed before statehood from Choctaw Lands, and its name honors a Choctaw Chief named ...

, Choctaw County, Coal County, Haskell County, Hughes County, Johnston County, Latimer County,

Le Flore County LeFlore County is a county along the eastern border of the U.S state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 50,384. Its county seat is Poteau. The county is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area and the name honors a Choct ...

McCurtain County McCurtain County is in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,151. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory ...

Okfuskee County Okfuskee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, its population was 12,191. Its county seat is Okemah. The county is named for a former Muscogee town in present Cleburne County, Alabama, that in turn w ...

, Pittsburg County, and Pushmataha County in a gubernatorial election since Oklahoma statehood. Fallin was the first non-Democrat to win Tillman County, which had voted for the Democratic candidate for governor in each election since Oklahoma statehood, thus breaking a 103-year streak of voting Democratic.

References

External links

Oklahoma State Election BoardCandidates for Oklahoma State Offices
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

Campaign contributions for 2010 Oklahoma Governor
from ''Follow the Money''

from OurCampaigns.com
Election 2010: Oklahoma Governor
from ''

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

''
2010 Oklahoma Governor Race
from ''

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...

''
2010 Oklahoma Governor's Race
from ''

CQ Politics Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is part of a privately owned publishing company called CQ Roll Call that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress. CQ was acquired by the Economist Group and combine ...

''
Race Profile
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''
News coverage
from ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th large ...

'' ;Debates
Oklahoma Gubernatorial Debate
on '' C-SPAN'', July 21, 2010 ;Official campaign sites
Jari Askins for GovernorMary Fallin for Governor
{{United States elections, 2010 2010

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Oklahoma