Candidate Filing Period Begins Wednesday, Back To Normal After 6 Years

By the end of the week, Oklahomans will better picture of who is going to be on the ballot for the upcoming mid-term elections.  

Beginning Wednesday, hundreds of candidates from across the state will converge on the Capitol to officially throw their hat in the ring for public office.  

“You’re not really candidate until you've filed the paperwork,” Election Secretary Paul Ziriax said.  

From U.S. Senate. and governor to state house and district attorney, would be candidates have until close of business Friday to file their official paperwork.  

“Typically, in a gubernatorial year we’ll have around 600 or so, maybe just under that,” Ziriax said. “Back in 2018 thanks to the teacher demonstration, we set a modern record of nearly 800. I expect this year will be closer to that historical average of around 600 but will be prepared even if it’s a larger number than that.”  

Any contests of candidacy must be filed by next Tuesday and will be sorted out the following week.  

Ziriax said after the 2018 teacher walk out and 2020 COVID-19, this is the first normal campaign filing they've had in 6 years, with the drama of who's in and who's out playing out in person.  

Once candidate filing is sorted out, overseas and armed services ballots will begin being distributed, all leading up to the primary election June 28 and the general election Tuesday, November 8.