State Rep. Monroe Nichols will be the first Black mayor of Tulsa, 103 years after a mob of white Tulsans destroyed Tulsa’s Greenwood District, nicknamed “Black Wall Street.” Nichols defeated longtime Democratic County Commissioner Karen Keith with 76,300 votes (55.62 percent) to her 60,873 votes (44.38 percent). He campaigned on ending homelessness in Tulsa by 2030, increasing development and stopping adversarial lawsuits with tribal governments.
A former University of Tulsa football player from Texas, Nichols (D-Tulsa) started his political career working for Tulsa’s last Democratic mayor, Kathy Taylor. After a failed run for the state House of Representatives in 2008, he was elected to represent House District 72 in 2016. His term in the House ends later this month, and he will be sworn in to succeed G. T. Bynum on Monday, Dec. 2, as Tulsa’s 41st mayor.
A short video of the opening of Nichols’ victory speech shows a crowd cheering before he thanked voters.
“If there is anyone out there who still questions if Tulsa is a place where big things are possible,” Nichols said. “If there’s anybody out there who doubts that no matter who you are can make an impact, tonight you got your answer.”
Tulsa joins Edmond and Muskogee in electing their first Black mayors in the 2020s.
In the race to succeed Keith on the Tulsa County Board of Commissioners, Republican Lonnie Sims narrowly defeated Democrat Sarah Gray with 38,701 votes (50.84 percent) to 37,427 votes (49.16 percent). Sims’ win will give Republicans control of every elected office in Tulsa County. A current state representative and the former mayor of Jenks, Sims brings 20 years of political experience to the county commission.
In the Tulsa City Council runoffs, Anthony Archie was elected in District 2, Lori Decter Wright was reelected in District 7, and Carol Bush defeated incumbent Jayme Fowler in District 9.
Bush, Archie join Tulsa City Council, Decter Wright returns
District 9 Councilman Jayme Fowler, first elected in 2020, became the only Tulsa incumbent to lose reelection in 2024 after garnering 8,666 votes (42.66 percent) votes to Bush’s 11,646 votes (57.34 percent). Bush represented House District 70 from 2016 until she opted not to seek reelection in 2022.
Fowler launched a 2024 campaign for mayor but withdrew from that race while saying he would not run for his old city council seat. He then backpedaled, filing to run for reelection after Bush announced her own campaign. Fowler trailed Bush in the August general election and struggled to gain ground in the runoff election.
Archie will replace departing Tulsa City Councilwoman Jeannie Cue in District 2 after winning 6,406 votes (54.46 percent) to Stephanie Reisdorph’s 5,356 votes (45.54 percent). Originally from Chicago, Archie moved to Tulsa in 2006 to attend Oral Roberts University and has taught at Tulsa Public Schools, worked as a pastor and founded the Oklahoma Toffee Company with his wife, Chelsea.
Incumbent Decter Wright won her reelection campaign to represent District 7 with 7,739 votes (52.82 percent), defeating conservative radio host Eddie Huff, who received 6,912 votes (47.18 percent). A former professional opera singer, Wright moved to Tulsa in 2008 from San Jose, California, and won a seat on the Tulsa City Council in 2018.
Every Tulsa City Council seat is up for reelection every two years. Incumbents Phil Lakin, Christian Bengel, Laura Bellis and Vanessa Hall-Harper were reelected in August, and Karen Gilbert and Jackie Dutton won election to open seats. Nathan Pickard won the city auditor race in June when he was the only candidate to file after the surprise retirement of incumbent Cathy Carter.
Sims beats Gray in close race, secures Republican trifecta
The race to succeed Keith for District 2 on the Tulsa County Board of County Commissioners was the tightest local race, with Sims and Gray each taking the lead several times during the vote count. The purple district has been represented by a Democrat since 2008, and Republicans have been eyeing the seat for years to secure a trifecta on the county commission. Sims chaired the committee on county and municipal government in the state House.
Republican County Clerk Michael Willis won reelection after a challenge from Democrat Don Nuam. Willis received 156,940 votes (62.59 percent) to Nuam’s 93,803 votes (37.41 percent).
Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado and County Court Clerk Don Newberry were reelected without opposition in April.
Tulsa County legislative races
Seven incumbent state legislators in the Tulsa area faced a general election challenger, and they all won reelection. By district those were:
- House District 16 covers parts of Muskogee, Okmulgee and Tulsa counties. Rep. Scott Fetgatter (R-Okmulgee) defeated Democrat Rosie Lynch of Okmulgee;
- House District 66 covers parts of Osage and Tulsa counties. Rep. Clay Staires (R-Skiatook) defeated Libertarian Kenneth Blevins of Sand Springs;
- House District 70 covers parts of Tulsa County. Rep. Suzanne Schreiber (D-Tulsa) defeated Republican Bradley Banks of Tulsa;
- House District 74 covers parts of Rogers and Tulsa counties. Rep. Mark Vancuren (R-Owasso) defeated independent Aaron Brent of Owasso;
- House District 79 covers parts of Tulsa County. Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa) defeated Republican Paul Hassink of Tulsa;
- Senate District 35 covers parts of Tulsa County. Sen. Jo Anna Dossett (D-Tulsa) defeated Republican Dean Martin of Tulsa; and
- Senate District 39 covers parts of Tulsa County. Sen. Dave Rader (R-Tulsa) defeated Democrat Melissa Bryce of Tulsa in what had been Democrats’ biggest hope for flipping a Republican seat in the area.
In addition, four open seats had general elections. By district, those were:
- House District 98 covers parts of Tulsa and Wagoner counties. Republican Gabe Woolley of Broken Arrow defeated Democrat Cathy Smythe of Broken Arrow for the seat held by Rep. Dean Davis (R-Broken Arrow), who lost to Woolley in the Aug. 27 runoff.
- Senate District 25 covers parts of Tulsa County. Republican Brian Guthrie, the mayor of Bixby, defeated Democrat Karen Gaddis, a former state representative from Tulsa, for the seat held by Sen. Joe Newhouse (R-Tulsa), who did not seek reelection;
- Senate District 33 covers parts of Tulsa and Rogers counties. Republican Christi Gillespie, the vice-mayor of Broken Arrow, defeated Democrat Bob Willis of Broken Arrow for the seat held by Sen. Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow), who is term limited; and
- Senate District 37 covers parts of Tulsa and Creek counties. Republican Aaron Reinhardt of Jenks defeated independent Andrew Nutter of Tulsa for the seat held by Sen. Cody Rogers (R-Tulsa), who lost to Reinhardt in the June 18 primary.
