The vast majority of Oklahoma’s 27 district attorneys were elected by default Friday night, with only one candidate filing for 23 of those elections this week. Those attorneys will be sworn in next January without appearing on a ballot, leaving only four DA races contested in Oklahoma’s June 16 primary election.
While 19 district attorneys were reelected without opposition, another four were elected for the first time without an opponent.
Republican Jeremiah Gregory will succeed Laura Thomas as the district attorney for Logan and Payne counties. Gregory is currently a private practice attorney and a former prosecutor, according to his campaign website. Thomas had received national attention for her handling of a high-profile sexual assault case in Stillwater last year and had served in office since her election in 2014.
First Assistant District Attorney Brett Mize, a Republican, will take over from his boss, Mike Fisher, as the new DA for Osage and Pawnee counties, while Republican attorney Whitney Kerr of Durant will succeed Tim Webster as the top prosecutor for Atoka, Bryan and Coal counties. Fisher had served in office since winning the 2018 election, while Webster was appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2020.
One rural Oklahoma district attorney’s office will be filled by a Democrat after former state Rep. Ben Loring (D-Miami) was the only candidate to file in Delaware and Ottawa counties. Loring previously served three terms in the Oklahoma House and will replace Republican District Attorney Douglas Pewitt, who was first elected in 2022. Loring will join Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna, who was also elected by default Friday, as the only Democratic DAs in the state.
Of Oklahoma’s 27 district attorneys, 10 first entered office owing to an appointment by Stitt to fill a vacancy.
Tulsa County: Incumbent Steve Kunzweiler faces challenge from Colleen McCarty
The largest county to see a district attorney election will be Tulsa County, where incumbent Steve Kunzweiler faces a Republican primary challenge from attorney Colleen McCarty. Kunzweiler is a career prosecutor who has served as district attorney since 2014, while McCarty previously ran the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.
Kunzweiler started as an assistant district attorney in Osage County before moving to Nowata and Washington Counties in 1992. He started with the Tulsa County office in 2002 and succeeded former district attorney Tim Harris in 2014.
McCarty has been a vocal critic of Kunzweiler, especially when it comes to his office’s handling of cases involving domestic violence victims. She owned Mod’s Coffee and Crepes with her husband, has published two novels and is also the daughter of Paula Marshall, the CEO of Bama Companies.
Since graduating from the University of Tulsa College of Law, McCarty has been an advocate for criminal justice reform in Oklahoma, and her public feud with Kunzweiler over the implementation of the Oklahoma Survivor’s Act was recently featured in the New York Times Magazine.
The race could potentially see Oklahoma’s tribal governments weigh in. While McCarty’s campaign has not focused on tribal sovereignty, Kunzweiler has been a vocal critic of the McGirt v. Oklahoma decision and is currently being sued by the Muscogee Nation for prosecuting tribal citizens, with the case currently on appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Only Republicans registered to vote in Tulsa County will be allowed to vote in the June election.
Haskell, Pittsburg counties: Former DA, current ADA file to succeed Sullivan
With incumbent District Attorney Chuck Sullivan resigning today to accept a position in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Republicans Jim Bob Miller and James Green are competing to be the new DA for Haskell and Pittsburg counties. Sullivan had served in the position since his appointment by Gov. Mary Fallin in 2016, and Stitt will appoint his immediate successor.
Miller previously served as district attorney from his appointment by Gov. Frank Keating in 2002 until he retired after the 2010 election as part of a deferred prosecution agreement on a charge of barratry. He entered the agreement after attempting to subpoena the identities of anonymous online posters who had criticized his performance, according to The Oklahoman.
Green currently serves as an assistant district attorney under Sullivan and is a retired Marine, according to his campaign Facebook.
Both candidates filed as Republicans, so only Republicans registered to vote in Haskell and Pittsburg counties will be allowed to cast ballots in the June 16 election.
Carter, Johnston, Love, Marshall, Murray counties: Gilmartin challenges incumbent Handke
Republican incumbent Melissa Handke, appointed by Stitt in 2023, is running her first reelection campaign for a full term and will face attorney James Gilmartin in the June primary election. Handke previously served as the first assistant district attorney before her appointment, while Gilmartin is a private practice attorney in Ardmore.
Handke was briefly appointed as a special prosecutor by Stitt to handle tribal hunting cases, but she resigned the position following pressure from Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office.
Only Republicans registered to vote in Carter, Johnston, Love, Marshall and Murray counties will be allowed to vote in the June election.
Lincoln, Pottawatomie counties: Incumbent Adam Panter faces Daniel McClure
Republican Adam Panter, who was appointed by Stitt in 2022, will face a primary challenge from Daniel McClure. Panter previously served as a first assistant district attorney, while McClure is the mayor of McLoud and a former employee of the Oklahoma Municipal League.
While district attorney races tend to lean slightly nonpartisan, McLoud’s campaign website touts conservative credentials and promises to use the office to “protect the unborn” and “defend your right to keep and bear arms.” Panter’s campaign Facebook focuses on more traditional criminal justice issues.
Only Republicans registered to vote in Lincoln and Pottawatomie counties will be allowed to cast ballots in the June 16 election.
19 DAs reelected without opposition
The rest of Oklahoma’s district attorneys were reelected without opposition, including:
- Republican George Leech III, serving Beaver, Cimarron, Harper, and Texas counties, who was appointed by Stitt in 2021;
- Republican Angela Marsee, serving Beckham, Custer, Ellis, Roger Mills and Washita counties, who was first elected in 2014;
- Republican Dan Jacobsma, serving Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa and Tillman counties, who was appointed by Stitt in 2024;
- Republican Tommy Humphries, serving Blaine, Canadian, Garfield, Grant and Kingfisher counties, who was appointed by Stitt in 2023;
- Republican Kyle Cabelka, serving Comanche and Cotton counties, who was appointed by Stitt in 2021;
- Republican Jason Hicks, serving Caddo, Grady, Jefferson and Stephens counties, who was appointed by Stitt in 2022;
- Democrat Vicki Behenna, serving Oklahoma County, who was elected in 2022;
- Republican Brian Hermanson, serving Kay and Noble counties, who was first elected in 2010;
- Republican William Drake, serving Nowata and Washington counties, who was elected in 2022;
- Republican Matt Ballard, serving Craig, Mayes and Rogers counties, who was first elected in 2014;
- Republican Janet Hutson, serving Muskogee County, who was appointed by Stitt in November;
- Republican Kevin Merritt, serving Latimer and LeFlore counties, who was elected in 2022;
- Republican Mark Matloff, serving Choctaw, McCurtain and Pushmataha counties, who was first elected as a Democrat in 2010;
- Republican Jennifer Austin, serving Cleveland, Garvin and McClain counties, who was appointed by Stitt in 2024;
- Republican Erik Johnson, serving Hughes, Pontotoc and Seminole counties, who was elected in 2022;
- Republican Max Cook, serving Creek and Okfuskee counties, who was appointed by Keating in 1997;
- Republican Carol Iski, serving Okmulgee and McIntosh counties, who was appointed by Stitt in 2020;
- Republican Chris Boring, serving Alfalfa, Dewey, Major, Woods and Woodward counties, who was first elected in 2014; and
- Republican Jack Thorp, serving Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties, who was appointed by Fallin in 2017.
(Correction: This article was updated at 8:35 a.m. Saturday, April 4, to correct reference to the appointment of Jack Thorp. NonDoc regrets the error.)
