Former House GOP leader endorses Democrat in Oklahoma gubernatorial race

(Image credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

With the Oklahoma governor's race tightening, a former Republican congressman is stepping up to make an endorsement — but not of the GOP candidate.

Former Rep. J.C. Watts, who served in Congress from 1995 to 2003 and spent four years as chairman of the House Republican Conference, appears in a new ad supporting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joy Hofmeister.

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Hofmeister is running against Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), who is serving his first term. Hofmeister is the Oklahoma superintendent of public instruction, and was a Republican before switching parties in order to challenge Stitt, The Washington Post reports.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.