Robert Franklin wins GOP runoff for Oklahoma state superintendent

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Republicans have chosen Robert Franklin as their nominee for the state’s top education office.

He defeated James Taylor 55% to 45% in Tuesday’s GOP runoff for state superintendent, a position that leads the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the state’s top school board. Franklin now advances to the Nov. 3 General Election where he will face Democrat Jennettie Marshall.

Franklin, 66, of Sand Springs, has been a special education teacher, longtime school and CareerTech administrator, and an inductee in the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame. He said his decades of experience in educational leadership would be an asset to the state Education Department and the Oklahoma State Board of Education.

He also pledged to collaborate with higher education institutions, tribal nations, state government leaders and local school districts to find solutions to Oklahoma’s yearslong teacher shortage. Putting more counselors and behavioral health specialists in schools to curb discipline issues has been another key piece of his campaign platform.

When reached by phone Tuesday night, Franklin said his victory indicates voters wanted a candidate less like former state Superintendent Ryan Walters, a far-right-wing firebrand, and more like the current, more moderate officeholder, Lindel Fields.

“They said if perhaps we can put a seasoned, tested educational leader in there, much like Lindel Fields has demonstrated, then we can take the toxicity out of things, take the divisiveness out of things and get to the work at hand, and then we can start to see results,” Franklin said. “I think people saw that, and then are saying, ‘I would like to see more of that, please.’”

Taylor, 67, of Oklahoma City, is a U.S. history and government teacher at Little Axe High School. He leads First Christ’s Church of Norman as the founding pastor.

He wrote in a social media post Tuesday night that he and his wife, Raphala, “exit this race with zero regrets.”

Taylor declined through a campaign spokesman to comment to Oklahoma Voice.

On the campaign trail, Taylor said he would demand academic excellence in Oklahoma’s struggling public schools and would promote parent empowerment.

Both men were among the last candidates to jump into the state superintendent race before they emerged as the top two vote earners in the June 16 primary election.

Franklin entered the race shortly before the April candidate filing window and ended up in the lead of the crowded Republican primary field. Educators across the state have widely embraced Franklin by endorsing him in droves, donating to his campaign and participating in door-knocking events.

He now advances to the General Election with a crucial GOP nomination. Republicans currently hold all statewide elected offices in Oklahoma, and voters have chosen the GOP candidate for state superintendent in every General Election since 2010.