Amid Ryan Walters’ resignation and Gov. Kevin Stitt’s shakeup of several appointed education positions, two more candidates joined the 2026 race for state superintendent of public instruction this week — one a Republican and the other a Democrat — setting up competitive primaries for both major parties.
In all, six candidates are currently vying for the statewide-elected position to which Stitt just appointed Lindel Fields, a former career technology center director who said he will not be a candidate for the job next year. Former El Reno Public Schools Superintendent Craig McVay announced his candidacy for state superintendent as a Democrat at an event celebrating Walters’ resignation Sept. 28 and said his administration would garner less ink than Walters’ did.
“In a Craig McVay administration, there is not going to be anything to write about,” McVay said. “I want to make sure I am completely upfront. It is going to be about the kids, and it is not going to be about Craig. (…) I do not need a job. I do not need to be on Fox News.”
Days later, at an Oct. 2 gathering at the Oklahoma History Center, Sen. Adam Pugh joined the race, bringing the total number of declared Republican candidates back to three following Ana Davine Landsaw’s withdrawal, which she announced in a Sept. 12 Facebook post.
Introduced by Sen. Dave Rader (R-Tulsa), who said he was “extremely excited” to learn the Oklahoma Senate Education Committee chairman was joining the race, Pugh thanked those who supported him as a child while announcing his campaign to lead the State Department of Education.
“I will continue to work with anybody around the state that wants to set about the business of ensuring that every child, no matter where they live, no matter their ZIP code, no matter their socioeconomic status — just like a little kid from a small town named Adam Pugh — has an opportunity because of education to be all that God has called them to be,” said Pugh (R-Edmond). “I should have been a statistic, but I am not.”
First elected to Senate District 41 in 2016 and term-limited from the Legislature in 2028, Pugh said having three children led him to pursue the chairmanship of the Senate Education Committee and has shaped his perspective.
“I was living every day what has been happening inside of our schools and in our classrooms,” Pugh said. “I think it gives me a great perspective on how to serve teachers, see what they need, the resources and how we can be strategic and precise where we direct our tax dollars so that they make the most impact to a young person’s educational journey.”
Asked to outline his platform, Pugh highlighted literacy as the foundation of learning.
“We have got terrible literacy rates, and you can draw a direct link from third-grade reading rates into our prison pipeline,” Pugh said. “You see children who start to fall behind in reading, and they get into middle school, and they are learning science or history, and they come home and they say, ‘I do not like it,’ and it is not that they do not like it, it is that maybe they are embarrassed because they cannot read as well as their peers or they do not understand all the words on a page.”
Familiar faces filling out the field
Touting that Oklahoma legislators “are not done” with raising teacher pay across the state, Pugh joins a Republican primary field with limited political experience but decades of school leadership work. Former Bixby Public Schools Superintendent Rob Miller and Peggs Public School Superintendent John Cox have been campaigning for months, with Cox mounting his fourth bid for the state superintendent position.
“This campaign has never been about chasing a title or higher office — it’s about results for our kids,” Cox said in a press release Wednesday that claimed he was a finalist for Stitt’s interim superintendent appointment. “I’m running because I believe every Oklahoma child deserves safe schools, stronger academics, and a public education system that parents and teachers can trust again. That’s why we must make education great again.”
Cox has led the small, rural school district of Peggs for 32 years. He finished third in the 2022 Republican primary for state superintendent behind Walters and April Grace. In 2014 and 2018, he had campaigned for the position as a Democrat, losing in the general election to Joy Hofmeister both years.
“As a papa to six wonderful grandchildren — and when I think about the 700,000 Oklahoma kids just like them — I know what’s at stake,” Cox said in the release. “I will work every day to make sure they inherit schools that prepare them for the future they deserve.”
As Bixby superintendent, Miller filed a lawsuit against Walters, accusing him of defamation and slander for remarks Walters made after a July 2024 State Board of Education meeting. Walters called Miller a “liar,” “a clown,” and “a true embarrassment” while claiming the Tulsa-area district had financial issues. Walters filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit based on his status as a “public figure” in elected office, but that motion was denied. Walters’ interlocutory appeal of that ruling remains pending. (The dynamic of Miller being a plaintiff against Walters made for an awkward moment when Stitt praised Miller during his 2025 State of the State address.)
A former U.S. Marine Corps member, Miller announced his 2026 candidacy in February by reading a rap in front of the State Capitol. In her withdrawal announcement, Landsaw endorsed Miller, who “is not here for political fights. He is here for Oklahoma’s kids,” according to his website.
“We’ve wasted nearly 1,000 days on one person’s agenda. We refuse to waste another minute,” Miller said in a Sept. 29 Facebook post after Walters announced his resignation. “It is past time to put the spotlight where it belongs: on our children, dedicated educators and schools. Our focus must now be on literacy, student support, teacher retention, and real results in the classroom. Enough about him. More about them. Let’s go!”
With McVay entering the race this week, voters are prepared to see a June 16 Democratic primary for state superintendent between McVay and Jennettie Marshall, a former Tulsa Public Schools board member, who announced her candidacy Aug. 8. Candidates will officially file for the 2026 election cycle in April.
Marshall has held a variety of roles throughout her career, from board member to probation and parole officer. According to her website, she sees a need for “serious people” to solve “serious problems.” Those problems include deficits in special education, teacher retention and cleaning up the state department of education, according to her website.
In a press release regarding Walters’ resignation, Marshall said her first reaction was, “I hope he’s going to help us clean up his mess.”
“In Fiscal Year 2024 alone, our schools had to employ more than 6,000 adjunct non-certified teachers. It’s amazing we are doing as well as we are,” she said. “He should have abandoned ship a long time ago because serious damage has been done to Oklahoma’s public schools and to our state’s reputation nationally. I am not sure it’s possible to estimate the cost to Oklahoma’s economic development.”
McVay is running to lead a return to the basics of ABCs and 123s. According to his campaign website, he believes teachers need support and hopes to undo “the disgraceful legacy of Ryan Walters.”
“How many teachers or support staff could we pay with the legal fees RyRy is racking up?” McVay asked in a Sept. 3 Facebook post. “It’s almost as if the majority has abdicated. Anyone interested in actually growing students?”
Former Tulsa Public Schools board member Jerry Griffin is also running for state superintendent. In 2022, he ran as a Republican before dropping out of the race. This go around, Griffin is running as an independent. FOX 23 reported that Griffin said he “firmly” believes he will be the first independent candidate to win statewide office in Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma’s challenges are not partisan — they are shared challenges,” Griffin said. “An independent candidacy is about creating the largest possible tent, where solutions matter more than political labels.”
Primary elections are scheduled for June 16. If necessary, primary runoffs will be held Aug. 25. The 2026 general election is set for Nov. 3.
