1994 Oklahoma gubernatorial election
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County results Keating: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Mildren: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% Watkins: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Oklahoma |
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Government |
The 1994 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, and was a race for Governor of Oklahoma. Former United States Associate Attorney General Frank Keating pulled an upset in the three-way race to become only the third Republican governor in Oklahoma history.
The Democratic vote was split between Lieutenant Governor Jack Mildren, an Oklahoma Sooners star quarterback from 1969-71, and former Democratic congressman Wes Watkins, who ran as an independent. Watkins won 24% of the vote and carried numerous counties (by wide margins in some cases); his 233,000 votes far exceeded Keating's 171,000-vote winning margin over Mildren.
This was the first time since Oklahoma statehood that Jackson County, Stephens County, and Grady County voted Republican in a gubernatorial election, and the first time since 1914 that Comanche County voted Republican.
Candidates
[edit]Democrat
[edit]- Jack Mildren, Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma
- Danny Williams
- Bernice Shedrick, state senator
- Joe Vickers
Republican
[edit]- Frank Keating- Assistant Attorney General, General Counsel member, and Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H. W. Bush; Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and United States Associate Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan
- Jerry Pierce, state senator
- Virginia Hale
- Thomas H. Lay
- Jerry Kobyluk
Independent
[edit]- Wes Watkins- former U.S. Congressman
Democratic primary
[edit]Lt. Governor Jack Mildren and Bernice Shedrick advanced to the runoff where both candidates received vote totals similar to the first primary, securing the win for Mildren.
Results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jack Mildren | 214,765 | 48.6 | |
Democratic | Bernice Shedrick | 165,066 | 37.3 | |
Democratic | Danny Williams | 46,571 | 10.6 | |
Democratic | Joe Vickers | 15,821 | 3.6 | |
Total votes | 442,223 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jack Mildren | 223,861 | 58.8 | |
Democratic | Bernice Shedrick | 156,749 | 41.2 | |
Total votes | 380,610 | 100.00 |
Republican primary
[edit]Frank Keating, a former assistant attorney general and member of the Reagan and Bush administrations, defeated four other Republicans to win the GOP nomination.
Results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Frank Keating | 117,265 | 56.9 | |
Republican | Jerry Pierce | 60,280 | 29.3 | |
Republican | Virginia Hale | 15,229 | 7.4 | |
Republican | Thomas H. Lay | 7,744 | 3.8 | |
Republican | Jerry Kobyluk | 5,429 | 2.6 | |
Total votes | 205,947 | 100.00 |
General election
[edit]Polling
[edit]Source | Date | Keating (R) | Mildren (D) | Watkins (I) |
---|---|---|---|---|
KSWO-TV | Nov. 4, 1994 | 40% | 39% | 15% |
Tulsa World | Nov. 1, 1994 | 28% | 29% | 21% |
Results
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Frank Keating | 466,740 | 46.9 | +14.2% | |
Democratic | Jack Mildren | 294,936 | 29.6 | −27.8% | |
Independent | Wes Watkins | 233,336 | 23.5 | N/A | |
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Republican gain from Democratic | Swing |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Governor, Democratic Primary Election - August 23, 1994" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board.
- ^ "Governor - Democratic Runoff Primary Election - September 20, 1994" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board.
- ^ "Governor - General Election - November 8, 1994" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board.
- ^ "1994 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Oklahoma". uselectionatlas.org.