In addition to closely-watched primaries in Florida and New York, Oklahoma conducted its runoff primary elections. Jim Inhofe, the state's senior Republican senator, had announced in February that he was retiring at the end of this year, thus triggering a special election.
At 8:36pm, Decision Desk called the race in favor of Rep. Markwayne Mullin. With an estimated 74 percent of the vote in, Mullin has 66.19 percent of the vote, compared to former Oklahoma Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon's 33.81 percent.
Decision Desk HQ projects Markwayne Mullin (@RepMullin) is the winner of the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate (special) in Oklahoma. #DecisionMade: 8:36pm EDT
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) August 24, 2022
DDHQ 2022 Forecast: Solid R
Follow more results here: https://t.co/KLOotFXNX0
Mullin had performed particularly well in the June 28 primary, finishing in first place with 43.62 percent of the vote, amongst a rather crowded field of 13 candidates. Nevertheless, with less than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff was triggered against Shannon, who had come in second with 17.53 percent of the vote.
Come November, Mullin will face former Rep. Kendra Horn, a Democrat who served one-term in Congress, from 2019-2021. Horn represented Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District, until she lost her re-election bid to Rep. Stephanie Bice, a Republican who currently represents the district.
Another runoff race for Oklahoma also occurred, with Madison Horn being declared the winner of the Democratic Senate primary. With an estimated 64 percent of the vote in, she has 63.73 percent of the vote. She will challenge James Lankford, the state's junior Republican senator.
Oklahoma is a particularly red state, and both races are considered to heavily favor Mullin and Lankford.
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