1994 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

The 1994 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, and was a race for Governor of Oklahoma. Former United States Associate Attorney General Frank Keating pulled an upset in the three-way race to become only the third Republican governor in Oklahoma history.

1994 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

November 8, 1994

Nominee Frank Keating Jack Mildren Wes Watkins Party Republican Democratic Independent Popular vote 466,740 294,936 233,336 Percentage 46.9% 29.6% 23.5%

County results Keating:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Mildren:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60% Watkins:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election David Walters Democratic Elected Governor Frank Keating Republican

The Democratic vote was split between Lieutenant Governor Jack Mildren, an Oklahoma Sooners star quarterback from 1969 to 1971, and former Democratic congressman Wes Watkins, 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

• Frank Keating- Assistant Attorney General, General Counsel member, and Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H. W. Bush; Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and United States Associate Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan
• Jerry Pierce, state senator
• Virginia Hale
• Thomas H. Lay
• Jerry Kobyluk

Independent

• Wes Watkins- 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

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Mildren	214,765	48.6
	Democratic	Bernice Shedrick	165,066	37.3
	Democratic	Danny Williams	46,571	10.6
	Democratic	Joe Vickers	15,821	3.6
Total votes			442,223	100.00

Democratic runoff primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Mildren	223,861	58.8
	Democratic	Bernice Shedrick	156,749	41.2
Total votes			380,610	100.00

Republican primary

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

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Keating	117,265	56.9
	Republican	Jerry Pierce	60,280	29.3
	Republican	Virginia Hale	15,229	7.4
	Republican	Thomas H. Lay	7,744	3.8
	Republican	Jerry Kobyluk	5,429	2.6
Total votes			205,947	100.00

General election

Polling

Source	Date	Keating (R)	Mildren (D)	Watkins (I)
KSWO-TV	Nov. 4, 1994	40%	39%	15%
Tulsa World	Nov. 1, 1994	28%	29%	21%

Results

1994 gubernatorial election, Oklahoma

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Frank Keating	466,740	46.9	+14.2%
	Democratic	Jack Mildren	294,936	29.6	−27.8%
	Independent	Wes Watkins	233,336	23.5	N/A
Majority
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing