Two seats on the Oklahoma County Board of Commissioners will be on 2026 ballots, and county voters will also select their tax assessor and a new treasurer for the first time in 30 years.
There will be plenty of competition for the open Oklahoma County District 3 commissioner seat vacated by Myles Davidson today, with a whopping eight candidates filing for the job ahead of the June 16 primary election.
Davidson, 51, announced his resignation March 20 in a letter to the county clerk’s office, just more than a week after a Cleveland County District Court judge granted a woman a three-year restraining order against him. He was first elected in 2022 and, before that, served in county government for more than a decade.
When the 2026 election cycle’s filing period concluded Friday afternoon, Oklahoma County District 3 candidates included five Republicans: Jessica Clayton, 45; Alex Warren, 64; Wendy Jo Hampton, 46; Thomas Parkhurst, 61; and Scott Ermis, 57.
Clayton has worked in county government since 2022, according to her Facebook page. Warren, the brother of Court Clerk Rick Warren, is a longtime businessman, according to his website. An Edmond-based communications business owner, Hampton was among the first to call for Davidson to resign. Parkhurst is an Edmond-based auctioneer who previously ran for the seat in 2018. Ermis appears to be an Edmond IT professional.
Frequent candidate Tom Guild, 71, has filed for the Democratic nomination in District 3. Guild most recently ran for county clerk in 2023 and has sought several other statewide and federal offices in elections past. Corey Winston, 32, and Jennifer Mayo, 35, have also filed for the Democratic nomination. Winston is a U.S. Army veteran who has worked in public service for more than a decade, according to his website. In December 2024, Winston briefly filed for — but ultimately withdrew from — an Edmond City Council seat to bring attention to an unconstitutional provision in the Edmond City Charter that says only landowners can seek office. Mayo is a long-time food access and public health advocate, according to her website.
Oklahoma County District 3 covers far northwest Oklahoma City, Edmond, Arcadia and Luther.
Trio challenge Lowe for OK County District 1
Meanwhile, in District 1, Democratic incumbent Commissioner Jason Lowe, 52, is running for a full four-year term. Lowe won the special election to his current seat in early 2025, succeeding commissioner Carrie Blumert.
This time around, Lowe is set to face three challengers in the June 16 Democratic primary. Long-time criminal justice reform activist Mark Faulk, 70, has been a vocal critic of the county jail and its operation, as well as the trust that governs it. Faulk helped found the People’s Council for Justice Reform. Harry Meister, 62, is a broker at Banker’s Insurance Group and who worked in county government decades prior. His wife, Dana, represents District 4 on the OKCPS Board of Education. Kayla Baker, 43, is the owner of Northline 950, a development and government contracting agency.
No Republican candidates filed for the seat. That means the winner of the June primary — or August runoff — will be the commissioner for District 1, which covers a central part of Oklahoma County, including the core of Oklahoma City, and is bound by Jones, The Village, Del City and a portion of southwest OKC.
Kearns, Gibbons challenge Stein for county assessor
Oklahoma County Assessor Larry Stein has filed for reelection, but he has drawn an opponent for the GOP nomination after Ferlin Kearns joined the race. Stein, 70, was first elected in 2018 and is running for a third term.
Kearns, 61, is an Edmond businessman who also serves as a volunteer member of the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Citizens Advisory Board. For years, Kearns ran Edmond Auto Brokers, recording his own TV commercials with a catchphrase about letting customers keep American flags that were attached to his vehicles.
Kearns and Stein are well acquainted. In his announcement video, Kearns recalled a contentious conversation he had with Stein over drones the assessor’s office was using. Most recently, during an Oklahoma County Budget Board meeting March 31, Kearns accused Stein of wanting to defund the county jail during public comments. Later in the meeting, Stein wondered aloud whether Kearns — who holds a degree from Harvard University — needed hearing aids because he didn’t know the difference between defer and defund. Hours later, Kearns announced his candidacy on Facebook.
Democrat John Gibbons, 63, has also filed for the assessor position. Gibbons previously ran for House District 88 in 2014.
Oklahoma County treasurer seat opens up
Forrest “Butch” Freeman, who was first elected as county treasurer in 1994, is not running for another term. The 82-year-old is the longest-serving elected official for Oklahoma County.
Two candidates have filed to succeed him and will face off in the Nov. 3 general election.
Christie Miller, 56, filed for the GOP nomination. Miller has worked in the treasurer’s office in varying capacities since 1993, most recently as comptroller. Democrat Jessica Thompson, 36, also filed for the open seat.
Behenna reelected by default
Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna won a second term by default Friday when no one filed to run against her. Behenna was first elected in 2022 to succeed long-time DA David Prater, whose pending prosecutions of police officers Behenna dismissed within months of taking office. While she has also faced criticism for the handling of other controversial cases, Behenna avoided a challenge in 2026.
