In Oklahoma, GOP mortgage executive will face former state attorney general in governor race

Protesters in Oklahoma
(Image credit: J Pat Carter/Getty Images)

Kevin Stitt, a political newcomer and owner of a private mortgage company, won Oklahoma's Republican gubernatorial primary runoff on Tuesday, beating Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. Stitt, 45, will face Democrat Drew Edmondson, a former state attorney general, in November. Gov. Mary Fallin (R) is stepping down due to term limits. Stitt ran on his record building up Gateway Mortgage Group into a large national lender, but he also faced negative ads highlighting the role his company played in the 2008 mortgage crisis. Polls show a competitive race.

In northeast Oklahoma, local McDonald's franchisee Kevin Hern will face Tulsa attorney Tim Gilpin for the U.S. House seat vacated by recently appointed NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. Republicans have held the seat for three decades.

Meanwhile, six incumbent Republican state House members were voted out on Tuesday, and all of them voted against a tax hike on fuel, cigarettes, and energy producers used to finance a pay raise for teachers, The Associated Press reports. Seven Republicans who voted against the tax are not seeking re-election, and two others were defeated in the first-round primary.

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.