The Aporia · Oklahoma Attorney General Responsible For Two Terrible Supreme Court Decisions Loses Gubernatorial Primary

Oklahoma Attorney General Responsible For Two Terrible Supreme Court Decisions Loses Gubernatorial Primary

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Blackman, J. (2026, August 26). Oklahoma Attorney General Responsible For Two Terrible Supreme Court Decisions Loses Gubernatorial Primary. Reason. https://reason.com/volokh/2026/08/26/oklahoma-attorney-general-responsible-for-two-terrible-supreme-court-decisions-loses-gubernatorial-primary/

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Quick Summary

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 locally by qwen2.5:14b 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).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has lost his bid for governor after a contentious campaign, with an under one percentage point margin. Drummond's gubernatorial aspirations were marred by two significant controversies involving the state's charter school program and a death row case. He had argued that the charter school program was unconstitutional, taking it to the Supreme Court where it was affirmed in a 4-4 tie. President Trump even mentioned this case in his endorsement of Drummond's opponent, calling it an "attack on Christianity." Additionally, Drummond was criticized for hiring a friend to review the conviction of Richard Glossip, who is on death row, and then asking the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate the death sentence. The appeals court refused to revisit the case, but the Supreme Court later ruled that it had made an error in reviewing the conviction. Drummond's loss marks a significant defeat for his career as Attorney General, who is now facing criticism for his handling of these cases.

Written for “Oklahoma Attorney General Election” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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sentences that state something as happening or true

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0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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no quote in the article backed the model's score

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94/100

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Reason · 43 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected

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Who wrote this

Josh Blackman

69 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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🔮 "It follows that if the underpinning is removed, the increasing professionalism will also disappear.

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Topics

Administration Drummond Oklahoma Republican the Supreme Court

Subjects

Drummond PERSON · 12× the Supreme Court ORG · 2× Administration ORG · 1× Gentner Drummond PERSON · 1× Oklahoma GPE · 1× Republican NORP · 1× Richard Glossip PERSON · 1× Trump PERSON · 1× Volokh PERSON · 1× the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ORG · 1×

Narrative

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!"

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-26

2026-08-26 · Reason

Oklahoma Attorney General Responsible For Two Terrible Supreme Court Decisions Loses Gubernatorial Primary · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

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. asserted

Drummond → comment → heat

First, Drummond argued that his own state's charter school program was unconstitutional. asserted

program → argue → ?

He litigated St. Isidore up to the Supreme Court where the case was affirmed by an equally-divided court. asserted

case → litigate → court

He → mention → Christianity

Second, Drummond hired his lifelong friend to review the capital conviction of Richard Glossip. asserted

Drummond → hire → Glossip

Drummond then asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate the death sentence. asserted

Drummond → ask → sentence

That court refused to revisit the case. asserted

court → refuse → case

Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that the OCCA had misinterpreted federal law. asserted

OCCA → rule → law

But even more troubling, as my colleague Paul Cassell pointed out, is Drummond's own conduct. asserted

conduct → point → ?

Justice Thomas wrote in his dissent that Drummond "collusively excluded . . . highly relevant evidence" from the record. asserted

Drummond → write → record

To add insult to injury, Drummond also seemed to support Justice Gorsuch's disastrous decision in McGirt. asserted

Drummond → add → McGirt

Based on the electoral map, Indian country seemed to vote strongly against Drummond. asserted

country → base → Drummond

As the returns stand now, only 2,000 votes separate Drummond and his opponent. asserted

votes → stand → Drummond

I'd like to think that some of those votes are due to the positions Drummond took before the courts. asserted

Drummond → like → courts