The 1994 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, and was a race for

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

. Former

United States Associate Attorney General The United States associate attorney general is the third-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The associate attorney general advises and assists the attorney general and the deputy attorney general in poli ...

Frank Keating Francis Anthony Keating II (born February 10, 1944, as David Rowland Keating) is an American attorney, politician and a former FBI special agent who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003. , Keating is one of only five gover ...

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 A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Jack Mildren, an

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

star quarterback from 1969 to 1971, and former Democratic congressman

Wes Watkins Wesley Wade Watkins (December 15, 1938 – March 26, 2025) was an American politician from the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma. Watkins was a member of the United States House of Representatives where he represented for 14 years as a Democratic P ...

, 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

* Jack Mildren, Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma *Danny Williams * Bernice Shedrick, state senator *Joe Vickers

Republican

- Assistant

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

member, and Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

; Assistant

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

and

under President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

* Jerry Pierce, state senator *Virginia Hale *Thomas H. Lay *Jerry Kobyluk

Independent

- former U.S. Congressman

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

Republican primary

, a former assistant attorney general and member of the Reagan and Bush administrations, defeated four other Republicans to win the GOP nomination.

Results

General election

Polling

Results

References

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Okla November 1994 in the United States 1994 in Oklahoma {{Oklahoma-election-stub