Republican Scott Pruitt Elected Oklahoma Attorney General

Staff and Wire Reports

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Republican candidate Scott Pruitt has been elected as the Oklahoma Attorney General.

Pruitt defeated political newcomer Jim Priest.

With 53 percent of the state's precincts reporting unofficial results, Pruitt received 64.5 percent of the vote over Priest, an Oklahoma City attorney.

A co-owner of the Oklahoma City RedHawks minor league baseball team, Pruitt said an important role of the attorney general's office is to push back against unconstitutional congressional mandates.

He said as the Oklahoma Attorney General he will "advance your freedom, punish those who commit crimes against children and the elderly, and root out public corruption. "

Pruitt replaces Democratic Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who stepped down after 16 years to run for governor.

Pruitt was an Oklahoma State Senator from 1998-2006.