Politics of Oklahoma

This article is about political groups and tendencies in Oklahoma. For the political and administrative structures, see Government of Oklahoma.
Politics of Oklahoma
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Divisions
Congressional delegation
United States presidential election results for Oklahoma[1]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 1,020,280 65.37% 503,890 32.29% 36,529 2.34%
2016 949,136 65.32% 420,375 28.93% 83,481 5.75%
2012 891,325 66.77% 443,547 33.23% 0 0.00%
2008 960,165 65.65% 502,496 34.35% 0 0.00%
2004 959,792 65.57% 503,966 34.43% 0 0.00%
2000 744,337 60.31% 474,276 38.43% 15,616 1.27%
1996 582,315 48.26% 488,105 40.45% 136,293 11.29%
1992 592,929 42.65% 473,066 34.02% 324,364 23.33%
1988 678,367 57.93% 483,423 41.28% 9,246 0.79%
1984 861,530 68.61% 385,080 30.67% 9,066 0.72%
1980 695,570 60.50% 402,026 34.97% 52,112 4.53%
1976 545,708 49.96% 532,442 48.75% 14,101 1.29%
1972 759,025 73.70% 247,147 24.00% 23,728 2.30%
1968 449,697 47.68% 301,658 31.99% 191,731 20.33%
1964 412,665 44.25% 519,834 55.75% 0 0.00%
1960 533,039 59.02% 370,111 40.98% 0 0.00%
1956 473,769 55.13% 385,581 44.87% 0 0.00%
1952 518,045 54.59% 430,939 45.41% 0 0.00%
1948 268,817 37.25% 452,782 62.75% 0 0.00%
1944 319,424 44.20% 401,549 55.57% 1,663 0.23%
1940 348,872 42.23% 474,313 57.41% 3,027 0.37%
1936 245,122 32.69% 501,069 66.83% 3,549 0.47%
1932 188,165 26.70% 516,468 73.30% 0 0.00%
1928 394,046 63.72% 219,174 35.44% 5,207 0.84%
1924 226,242 42.82% 255,798 48.41% 46,375 8.78%
1920 243,831 50.11% 217,053 44.61% 25,726 5.29%
1916 97,233 33.25% 148,113 50.65% 47,070 16.10%
1912 90,786 35.77% 119,156 46.95% 43,859 17.28%
1908 110,474 43.33% 122,363 47.99% 22,146 8.69%

The politics of Oklahoma exists in a framework of a presidential republic modeled after the United States. The governor of Oklahoma is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform two-party system. Executive power is exercised by the governor and the government. Legislative power is vested in the governor and the bicameral Oklahoma Legislature. Judicial power is vested in the judiciary of Oklahoma. The political system is laid out in the 1907 Oklahoma Constitution.

Oklahoma is currently categorized politically as conservative. The state has a history of Democratic state government dominance. Oklahoma came into being as a state at the height of the era of Jim Crow Laws and had a Ku Klux Klan presence in the 1920s. Race politics gave way to Democratic political infighting over the New Deal in the 1930s and 1940s and the gradual growth of the Oklahoma Republican Party's power. As a result, Oklahoma has voted for Republican presidential candidates all but once since 1952 (in 1964), with the Democratic candidate having failed to pick up a single county in the state in all elections since 2004.[2] Today all of Oklahoma's federal offices and statewide offices, plus both chambers of the state legislature (with supermajorities), are either held by the Republican Party or are non-partisan.[3]

Until 1964, Oklahoma was considered a "swing state" in American politics, shifting back and forth in its support for the two major parties. This was in part due to Oklahoma's situation both as a part of the Great Plains states, which tended to be reliably Republican, and the South, which was heavily Democratic at that time. Between statehood and 1964, the state voted for the losing candidate just three times, in 1908, 1924, and 1960. However, Oklahoma voters would split their political allegiances by electing Democrats for local government, but Republicans for national office.

  1. ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Oklahoma". US Election Atlas. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  2. ^ "US presidential elections: Oklahoma electoral votes since 1908". statista.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Oklahoma state executive offices". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved October 4, 2024.