After finishing just shy of winning the Republican nomination for Oklahoma County district attorney outright in June’s primary, Kevin Calvey secured the GOP nomination in Tuesday’s runoff, ending a contentious summer-long race against Gayland Gieger and propelling him toward a November showdown with Democrat Vicki Behenna.
Calvey received 60.71 percent of the runoff vote Tuesday night, compared to 39.29 for Gieger. All results posted by the Oklahoma State Election Board online are unofficial until they are certified by the board.
In other Oklahoma County races, incumbent District 1 Commissioner Carrie Blumert narrowly defeated challenger Anastasia Pittman for the Democratic Party’s nomination, while Myles Davidson won the GOP nomination for County Commission District 3.
But no race was more watched than the one between Calvey and Gieger.
Calvey was a longtime state legislator and is the incumbent county commissioner for District 3. The 56-year-old also serves on the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority, otherwise known as the jail trust.
Gieger has worked in the Oklahoma County DA’s Office for more than two decades, including 12 years under current district attorney David Prater.
Calvey moves on to face Democrat Vicki Behenna in November. Behenna is a former federal prosecutor who worked on the prosecution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1990s and is making her first run for office.
Calvey will also have to deal with the uncertainty of an OSBI investigation into his campaign first reported by Nolan Clay of The Oklahoman. Calvey has denied any wrongdoing and has accused Prater of leaking information about the investigation to the media in the closing days of the runoff, which Prater has denied.
“We have now ended the David Prater era in the DA’s office,” Calvey said Tuesday night at his watch party.
In his remarks, Calvey also called on Democrats to support him in November, citing what he said was a shared interest in having a DA who does not use the office to advocate for a political agenda.
Both Calvey and Behenna pledged to debate each other in the general election campaign during a series of debates hosted by NonDoc earlier this summer.
Blumert narrowly defeats Pittman
Blumert and Pittman emerged from a field of four candidates in the primary and were in a back-and-forth battle all night during the runoff. When the dust settled, Blumert finished with just 120 more votes than Pittman, winning 50.49 percent of the vote.
Blumert was elected to the County Commission in 2018. Pittman announced her candidacy earlier this year and formerly served as a state senator and representative. She was also the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor four years ago.
Blumert will face Republican Willard Linzy in the November general election.
Davidson wins GOP nod for County Commission District 3
Myles Davidson easily defeated Amy Alexander for the GOP nomination for County Commissioner District 3, picking up 60.06 percent of the vote.
Davidson, who has been Calvey’s chief deputy since January 2019, previously worked in District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan’s office from March 2009 until 2019 — marking a total of 14 years working with the county’s Board of Commissioners.
Alexander served as a field representative under Maughan since July 2021 and has worked in county government since February 2018. Prior to joining Maughan, she worked in the Oklahoma County Clerk’s Office and in the county’s engineering office.
Davidson will move on to face Democrat Cathy Cummings in November. Cummings previously served as mayor of The Village and owns an Oklahoma City restaurant. She was forced to move after declaring her candidacy because redistricting in Oklahoma County late last year moved The Village from District 3 to District 1.
