1994 Oklahoma gubernatorial election
November 8, 1994
 
Nominee Frank Keating Jack Mildren Wes Watkins
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Popular vote 466,740 294,936 233,336
Percentage 46.9% 29.6% 23.5%
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%
Governor before election

David Walters
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Frank Keating
Republican

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 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

Democrat

Republican

Independent

Democratic primary

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

Democratic primary results[1]
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
Democratic runoff primary results[2]
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

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

Republican primary results [1]
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

Polling

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

1994 gubernatorial election, Oklahoma [3][4]
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

  1. 1 2 "Governor, Democratic Primary Election - August 23, 1994" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board.
  2. ↑ "Governor - Democratic Runoff Primary Election - September 20, 1994" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board.
  3. ↑ "Governor - General Election - November 8, 1994" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board.
  4. ↑ "1994 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Oklahoma". uselectionatlas.org.


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