Oklahoma voters will pick a new governor Tuesday, Nov. 3, choosing among five candidates in a race that has drawn millions in outside spending and national attention to a state where no Democrat has won the office in two decades.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters in line by 7 p.m. can still cast ballots, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board. Cleveland County held four days of early voting at six locations, the Norman Transcript reported.

Term limits prevent Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt from seeking a third term.

The candidates

Republican Mike Mazzei, a financial adviser and former state senator from Tulsa, has promised to eliminate the income tax, end property taxes for seniors and veterans, reform education and grow high-paying jobs, according to KGOU. He won President Donald Trump's endorsement and survived a close GOP primary runoff against Attorney General Gentner Drummond in August, winning by about 2,000 votes, KGOU reported. Mazzei loaned his own campaign $11 million through August, according to state campaign filings reported by KGOU. Those loans made up almost 90% of the money his campaign raised.

Democrat Cyndi Munson has served in the Oklahoma House since 2015 and is its minority leader. She was the first Asian American woman elected to the Oklahoma Legislature, the OU Daily reported. Munson has campaigned on increasing public school investment, lowering health care costs, repealing Oklahoma's abortion ban and enacting a moratorium on new data centers until the Legislature writes transparency rules for those projects, according to KGOU.

Three independents are also on the ballot: Robert E. Brooks Sr. of Moore, Orlando Lynn Bush of Edmond and Jerry Griffin of Tulsa, the OU Daily reported.

Money and momentum

Outside groups have spent more than $5.5 million on Oklahoma state races, KGOU reported. A Washington, D.C.-based political action committee called Oklahoma Values, which has organizational ties to the Republican Governors Association (RGA), accounts for more than half of that spending. The RGA has pledged at least $3 million to support Mazzei. The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) pledged $500,000 to Munson, KGOU reported.

Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket gave Mazzei more than a 90% chance of winning as of mid-October, KGOU reported. Oklahoma has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in 20 years.

Early voting surges

About 186,500 Oklahomans voted early in person, roughly 41% more than in the 2022 midterm. Those voters included 89,799 registered Republicans, 71,680 Democrats, 24,249 independents and 780 Libertarians.

How to follow results

Sample ballots and polling locations are available on the State Election Board website at oklahoma.gov/elections.html. The site will post results after polls close, the OU Daily reported. Electioneering is prohibited within 300 feet of a polling-place entrance or the last person in line while voting is underway.