A pair of former speakers who led the Muscogee National Council won runoff races Saturday to reclaim elected office after being ousted by voters in prior cycles.
William Lowe, who was defeated while seeking reelection to the Okmulke District “A” seat in 2023, won the district’s “B” seat this year. Lucian Tiger III, who was bounced from the Tvlse District “B” seat in 2021 by Leonard Gouge, rebounded with a resonating win over Gouge on Saturday.
According to unofficial results posted on the Muscogee Nation Election Office’s Facebook page at 9:38 p.m. Saturday, Tiger received 1,789 votes (57.21 percent) compared to Gouge’s 1,338 votes (42.79 percent). Lowe, meanwhile, received 1,629 votes (52.19 percent) against incumbent Nelson Harjo Sr., who received 1,492 votes (47.81 percent).
The results are unofficial until they are affirmed by the Muscogee Nation Election Board, which is scheduled to do so by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14. Candidates have an opportunity to request a recount or allege misconduct, which would trigger review processes.
Tiger returns after strong support from absentee ballots
In all, 3,148 Muscogee citizens cast ballots in Saturday’s runoff election, which will mark the final time that all of the nation’s voters can vote for all Muscogee National Council seats. In the September general election, a constitutional amendment reinstating district-only voting was approved with 63 percent support. The National Council is comprised of eight districts that each have two representatives who serve four-year terms on the tribe’s legislative body, and voters who live outside the Muscogee Reservation choose a district in which to be registered as a voter.
Turnout troubles
For the November 2025 runoff election, about 17.4 percent of the Muscogee Nation’s 18,135 registered voters cast ballots, down slightly from September’s general election turnout of about 21 percent.
The state of Oklahoma also typically sees relatively low voter turnout, with only 53.28 percent of registered voters casting ballots in the 2024 presidential election, the second-lowest rate in the country.
In the past, both Lowe and Tiger have served as speaker of the National Council, the top-ranking member of the council who presides over meetings.
In 2018, Tiger was serving as speaker when he cast the deciding vote to repeal a law granting independence to Mvskoke Media, the tribe’s news outlet that had recently reported an allegation from Rep. Dode Barnett that Tiger had slapped her butt and “let out a big ‘woo’ and kept walking.” Barnett told the outlet that, twice, she confronted Tiger about his action but that he “laughed at me.”
The repeal of the tribe’s press protections became a hot topic in the 2019 race for principal chief, with Tiger finishing third and narrowly missing a runoff against now-Principal Chief David Hill, who had voted against repealing the press law. The saga was detailed in the award-winning documentary film Bad Press. Tiger alleged irregularities during the 2019 general election, and issues with securing ballots in locked boxes led the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court to order the election to be redone, but Tiger again finished third.
Anti-incumbent sentiment helped cause three council members to lose their 2021 reelection bids, including Tiger, who was defeated by Gouge (52.8 percent support).
Tiger, 56, has generally avoided media interviews during his 2021 and 2025 campaigns, and he had not commented about his victory on his Facebook page prior to the publication of this article Sunday afternoon.
A real estate agent, he is of the Wind Clan. While on the council previously, Tiger was accused of a housing violation related to use of the Muscogee Nation’s mortgage assistance program. On his Facebook page, Tiger listed his prior achievements in office as providing payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, purchasing Council Oak Comprehensive Healthcare and increasing the transparency of economic development projects.
Tiger told a community forum in Glenpool that, if elected, he would attend every committee meeting.
“I’m going to be in that seat at every meeting. Whether it’s my committee meeting or there is another committee meeting, [I will] be there,” Tiger said. “Our citizens, when they vote for any of these candidates, they want you in that chair at that meeting. They don’t want you Zooming in. I didn’t have that privilege, or an opportunity to Zoom, when I was on council. We had to be there.”
Tiger’s victory Saturday came with strong support from absentee voters. While Gouge won among the 676 voters who cast their ballots in person Saturday, Tiger received 1,302 votes compared to Gouge’s 828 among voters who mailed their ballots.
Neither Tiger nor Gouge responded to NonDoc’s requests for interviews ahead of the election. Gouge posted a brief statement thanking supporters on Facebook late Saturday.
“I want to say mvto to all that has supported me during this election and for the past four years, it’s been great,” Gouge said.
Lowe wins return to council two years after defeat
In 2023, Lowe was serving as speaker of the Muscogee National Council when voters ousted two incumbents — Lowe and then-Rep. Joseph Hicks. Robyn Whitecloud received 52.25 percent support to defeat Lowe in the Okmulke District “A” seat.
On Saturday, Lowe earned a return to the council by ousting Harjo, who had defeated incumbent Rep. James Jennings in 2021.
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Lowe holds a master’s of business administration degree from Grand Canyon University. His is of the Bird Clan, with Nuyaka as his tribal town. While neither Lowe nor Harjo responded to Nondoc’s requests for interviews ahead of the election, they did conduct interviews with Mvskoke Media.
Lowe told the outlet in August that he supports adding a 17th seat on the National Council to represent at-large citizens who live outside Muscogee Reservation boundaries. He said addressing barriers for Muscogee citizens to receive tribal services was a priority of his campaign.
“We hear different things and different reasons why someone didn’t get help, no matter what [the help] could be — housing, health, or anything else,” Lowe said. “Some way they were two inches out of the jurisdiction, or they made two cents more than what is allowed. So, that’s something I think we could all really sit down, work together and find a way to figure it out. Because, you know, the bigger picture is we don’t understand just yet how big the federal cuts are going to be, and that’s something we really need to be cognizant of.”
Lowe issued a brief statement on Facebook late Saturday night after results were released.
“Mvto for your support!” Lowe wrote. “I look forward to serving all citizens of the great Muscogee Nation!”
In his own Facebook post, Harjo said he had already congratulated Lowe on his victory.
“(It) was an honor to have been allowed to serve this great nation for the past four years,” Harjo wrote. “I send my prayers up, as we are faced with some difficult times ahead and I pray our creator watches over us to see us through, till we come to an end of all these matters. Mvtci once again for all the support.”
