← Election Series · All statewide races

Our verdict

LiberalMind endorses T.W

Election Day is November 3. Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell is term-limited after two terms, so the office is open. T.W. Shannon, a former Speaker of the Oklahoma House endorsed by President Trump, won a six-candidate Republican primary outright; Kelly Forbes, an educator since 2008, was the only Democrat to file. One note on scope: Oklahoma's Secretary of State is appointed by the governor, not elected, so there is no secretary of state race on this ballot. No polling or rating for this race was located. LiberalMind endorses T.W. Shannon. Read the research, and see why.

How Oklahoma got here

The primaries were held June 16, 2026. Shannon (R) won his outright with nearly 54% in a six-candidate field, avoiding a runoff (Oklahoma Voice). Forbes (D) was the only Democrat to file and advanced uncontested (Oklahoma Constitution filing report). The roster is confirmed by News 9's general-election preview.

The money, printed with its compiler and as-of dates (Oklahoma Ethics Commission filings, as compiled by the Tulsa Flyer voter guide): Shannon $692,049 as of August 17, 2026; Forbes $55,886 as of August 17, 2026. An earlier snapshot fits the same picture: in the pre-primary period (reports filed by June 8, 2026), Shannon reported more than $607,000 in contributions (News 9). Shannon outraises Forbes by more than twelve to one on the August figures.

Competitiveness: no public competitiveness evidence was located — no reputable polling or rating for this race was found. Structural context only: Donald Trump won Oklahoma by 34 points in 2024. That is context about the state, not evidence about this race, and we print it as such.

T.W. Shannon (Republican) — the proven former speaker

Background and service: Oklahoma House District 62 (Lawton), 2006–2015, including a term as House Speaker (2013–2014); former CEO of Chickasaw Community Bank; appointed to the Oklahoma Transportation Commission in March 2019; U.S. Department of Agriculture senior adviser for rural prosperity, announced April 2025 (Tulsa Flyer voter guide; Tulsa Beacon). He is endorsed by President Donald Trump (Oklahoma Voice). His campaign priorities, per his site as summarized: business recruitment, tax and regulation cuts, law enforcement, and the Second Amendment (Tulsa Flyer).

Pros: Proven at the top of a legislative chamber — a Speaker's record is leadership in service, not a promise — plus private-sector executive experience running a bank and federal and state appointed service since. He cleared a six-candidate primary without a runoff. His stated program is our values in plain order: lower taxes and regulation, law enforcement, the Second Amendment.

Cons: His last elected service ended in 2015 — the record is proven but not recent, and the lieutenant governorship would be his first elected office in more than a decade. That is a dating fact about the record, not a flaw in it.

The flaw, plainly: None proven in service on this record. No scandal or verification failure for Shannon was located in this research.

Kelly Forbes (Democratic) — an educator, unproven in office

Background and service: First run for office. An educator since 2008 — classroom teacher, school administrator, federal programs director, dual-language director, adjunct professor; owner of Kelly B's Consulting; doctorate in administration and leadership from Southern Nazarene University; fluent Spanish speaker (Oklahoma Constitution; Oklahoma Voice profile). Her stated priorities: workforce training, tribal partnerships, housing and food insecurity, and public-school funding (Tulsa Beacon).

The Manchin-test fact, stated plainly: No in-service break by Forbes with her party on Constitution, free-market, or freedom values was located in this research — she has never held office in which such a break could be documented, and no documented act is sourced.

Pros: A long, real career in public education across classroom, administration, and federal-programs roles, and a doctorate in her field. Her workforce-training priority speaks to the lieutenant governor's economic-development brief.

Cons: She has never held elected office — unproven status, stated as fact. Her program is her party's program on schools and social spending, with no sourced break from it. She is outraised more than twelve to one on the August Ethics Commission compilation.

The flaw, plainly: No proven flaw was located — Forbes has no service record in which one could be proven — and no proven exception case either. She is not priced as an extremist; she is an unproven Democrat with no Manchin-test evidence, which is the standing reason the exception is not earned.

The minor candidates, briefly

There are none on the rosters located for this office. A standing check found no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard for either candidate — absence noted, nothing implied.

OUR CALL

LiberalMind endorses T.W. Shannon.

Shannon is proven in service — nine years in the House, a term as Speaker, a bank CEO's chair, and appointed service since — running on tax and regulation cuts, law enforcement, and the Second Amendment, with the President's endorsement. Forbes is a career educator in her first run for any office, with no record in service and no Manchin-test break to inspect. Endorse the proven in-service conservative.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 5, 2026

Winner: T.W. Shannon (Republican) — called by the Associated Press. This result was appended on November 5, 2026 (results wave 3); the original article above is unchanged, exactly as published before Election Day.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

← Back to the Election Series