WASHINGTON (AP) — A combination of term-limits, retirements, aspirations for higher office and one high-profile presidential appointment have triggered a wave of open seats in Oklahoma’s state primary on Tuesday.Voters will select nominees to replace departing federal and state officials ranging from U.S. senator and representative to governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state legislator. They’ll also decide whether to renominate some incumbents for another term and consider a statewide ballot measure on the minimum wage.Among the most notable open-seat contests are the primaries to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt.The crowded nine-person Republican primary ballot includes state Attorney General Gentner Drummond; former state Secretary of Public Safety Chip Keating, who is the son of former Gov. Frank Keating; former state Sen. Mike Mazzei; and former state House Speaker Charles McCall.
The Democratic field includes state House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson and former state Sen. Connie Johnson.President Donald Trump opened up another high-profile seat in Oklahoma when he named Republican U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace fellow Republican Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary. Mullin’s appointed replacement, U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong, opted not to seek a full term.
