Oklahoma voters oust two incumbent Senate Republicans. Third lawmaker member barely advances

OKLAHOMA CITY — Two of the three incumbent Oklahoma lawmakers on the ballot Tuesday were voted out of office by Oklahomans. 

Sens. Dana Prieto, R-Tulsa, and Jack Stewart, R-Yukon, lost their bids for reelection in their respective primary runoffs. A third incumbent, Rep. David Smith, R-Arpelar, narrowly won his party’s nomination by about 100 votes. 

Prieto was part of the group of Republican lawmakers that launched the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus in September 2024. 

The Freedom Caucus, a group of far-right lawmakers, has often challenged the priorities of Senate leadership and, alongside Senate Democrats, blocked some proposed state questions from being added to the August ballot this past session. 

Constituents in Senate District 34, which encompasses part of Tulsa County, soundly rejected another four-year term for Prieto. With over 5,200 votes cast, 65% of voters supported his opponent, Aaron Forst who will face Democrat Amy Hossain in November. 

Prieto did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment Wednesday and did not appear to post a statement on social media. 

Stewart represents Senate District 18, which includes parts of Oklahoma City, Yukon and Canadian County. Only 45% of the nearly 8,000 votes were for Stewart, pushing his opponent, Tyler Herring, forward to the general election to face Democrat Meredith McGinnis. 

In a statement posted to Facebook, Stewart wrote that while the outcome was not what he wanted, he was glad to have met so many constituents during the campaign. 

“It will take me some time of reflection to consider how we can do better at getting the truth out to people and not allow lies to be so influencing,” he wrote. “But for now, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to you all for allowing me to serve as your state senator for four years. It was a joy and an honor.”

Stewart’s votes often aligned with known members of the caucus, but he denied being a member, according to reporting from NonDoc. The Freedom Caucus never publicly listed its membership. 

Voters in June ousted another Senate incumbent. Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, came third in his Lawton-area district. Deevers was also a founding member of the state’s Freedom Caucus.

Nine other legislative races will advance to the general election after Tuesday’s partisan runoff. The winners of the Republican nomination in their respective races include: 

• Jon Painter in Senate District 24; 
• Curtis Erwin in Senate District 32; 
• Justin Wood in Senate District 17; 
• Chris White in House District 1; 
• Scotty Stokes in House District 9; 
• Madison Bolay in House District 38; 
• Toby Thompson in House District 47; 
• Troy Talley in House District 81; and
• Roberto Seda in House District 91. 

The only Democratic runoff for the state Legislature was in House District 99 where Herschel Brown had a decisive victory. Brown faces Republican opponent Melvin Latham in November. 

Republican Jessica Winegeart won the runoff in Senate District 26. No challengers from another party filed in the race, making her the next state senator for the district. 

Michael Brittingham also won the Republican runoff election in House District 19 but faces no other opponents in November.