Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond lost a gubernatorial primary by less than one percentage point. Drummond was criticized for arguing in court that Oklahoma's charter school program was unconstitutional, which the Supreme Court ultimately affirmed in an equally-divided decision. He also faced criticism for his handling of a capital conviction case, with Justice Thomas accusing him of excluding relevant evidence from the record. Drummond's loss appears to have been partly due to opposition from Indian country voters, who strongly voted against him according to electoral maps.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who was running for governor, has lost his Republican primary election by less than a percentage point. Drummond's candidacy was criticized due to two high-profile decisions made during his tenure as attorney general. One of these decisions involved St. Isidore School, a charter school that faced opposition from Drummond in the Supreme Court. The court ultimately affirmed an equally-divided decision against Drummond, with the Supreme Court ruling 4-4, allowing the school to remain open. President Donald Trump even publicly criticized Drummond's stance on this issue, calling it a "troubling" attack on Christianity and educational freedom. Additionally, Drummond was criticized for hiring his friend to review the case of Richard Glossip, who was convicted of capital murder and received a death sentence. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals refused to vacate Glossip's sentence, and the Supreme Court later ruled that they had misapplied the law in doing so.
Written for “Oklahoma Gubernatorial Election Results” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 2590: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-08-27
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
It is often said that A.G. is short for "Aspiring Governor."
asserted
A.G. → say → Governor
Such was the case in Oklahoma, where Attorney General Gentner Drummond ran for the Republican Gubernatorial Primary.
asserted
Drummond → run → Primary
The AP has now called the race, and Drummond lost by less than a percentage point.
asserted
Drummond → call → point
I usually do not comment on political races, but Drummond deserves some heat.
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Drummond → comment → heat
First, Drummond argued that his own state's charter school program was unconstitutional.
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program → argue → ?
He litigated St. Isidore up to the Supreme Court where the case was affirmed by an equally-divided court.
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case → litigate → court
President Trump even mentioned this case in his social media endorsement of Drummond's opponent: "He even SUED to BLOCK a religious based charter school strongly supported by my Administration — Very troubling for Educational Freedom, and an outright attack on Christianity!"
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He → mention → Christianity
Second, Drummond hired his lifelong friend to review the capital conviction of Richard Glossip.
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Drummond → hire → Glossip
Drummond then asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate the death sentence.
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Drummond → ask → sentence
That court refused to revisit the case.
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court → refuse → case
Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that the OCCA had misinterpreted federal law.
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OCCA → rule → law
But even more troubling, as my colleague Paul Cassell pointed out, is Drummond's own conduct.
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conduct → point → ?
Justice Thomas wrote in his dissent that Drummond "collusively excluded . . . highly relevant evidence" from the record.
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Drummond → write → record
To add insult to injury, Drummond also seemed to support Justice Gorsuch's disastrous decision in McGirt.
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Drummond → add → McGirt
Based on the electoral map, Indian country seemed to vote strongly against Drummond.
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country → base → Drummond
As the returns stand now, only 2,000 votes separate Drummond and his opponent.
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votes → stand → Drummond
I'd like to think that some of those votes are due to the positions Drummond took before the courts.
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Drummond → like → courts
