Michael Bates

Oklahomans need elected officials who will vigorously defend the principles of One Oklahoma and Equal Justice Under Law in Federal court. We don't need elected officials who are funded by tribal governments pushing for divisive systems and complicated compacts. This year, defending those principles means electing Jeff Starling for Attorney General and Steve Kunzweiler for Tulsa County District Attorney. Their opponents have signaled an intent to surrender.

A friend messaged to ask: "Mazzei and not Jake Merrick? Everybody else I know has been on the Merrick train for months."

Jackson Lahmeyer has responded on Facebook to a last-minute mailer from the Mark Tedford campaign. The two are front-runners in the battle for the Republican nomination in Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District.

Congressional candidate Jackson Lahmeyer canceled his sermon this morning at Sheridan.Church. Hours later, the London-based Daily Mail published an expose of Lahmeyer's flirtatious texts with a former Miss Oklahoma USA. Although the texts indicate no sexual involvement had yet occurred, the reaction from Lahmeyer's wife shows that she saw her husband moving toward the exits with Caitlin Simmons Key, a single mom who worked as a fundraiser for the campaign.

In previous entries, I explained why it was important not to have a Gentner Drummond vs. Charles McCall runoff for the Republican nomination for Governor. I explained why I don't see Jake Merrick as a viable alternative , and why I worry he may draw enough conservative votes from Mike Mazzei and Chip Keating to give Drummond/McCall the two slots in the August runoff.

Amy Dickens is a prosecutor now, working in the Crimes Against Children unit, but many years ago she was our kids' babysitter and part of our church family. Dickens received the Pillar of Hope award last fall from the Child Advocacy Network for her work prosecuting cases involving child abuse. She has some words about tomorrow's election for Tulsa County District Attorney that are worth your attention.

Oklahoma Grassroots Conservatives LLC, a Delaware-registered dark-money group, has reported spending $677,828.65 opposing Steve Kunzweiler and supporting Colleen McCarty for Tulsa County District Attorney in the Republican primary . Dustin McIntyre is named as the group's treasurer; the address is a private mailbox facility at 4th and Yale. That astronomical amount does not include any spending in the last two weeks of the campaign.

There's always more to say than time to write, so here are some final loosely organized notes and thoughts on the 2026 Oklahoma Republican primary.

Facebook reminded me that Porter Davis's birthday would have been this week. Porter was a long-time activist in the Oklahoma Republican Party.

Inola and Oklahoma are blessed to have District 8 State Representative Tom Gann back for his sixth and final two-year term before term limits. Gann is one of the handful of legislators who refuses all gifts and meals from lobbyists and all contributions from PACs. As you'll see from the letter below, he's intelligent, well-spoken, thoughtful, and respectful, not a grandstander. All this explains why the