Politics of Oklahoma

United States presidential election results for Oklahoma^[1]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,020,280	65.37%	503,890	32.29%	36,529	2.34%
2016	949,136	65.32%	420,375	28.93%	83,481	5.75%
2012	891,325	66.77%	443,547	33.23%	0	0.00%
2008	960,165	65.65%	502,496	34.35%	0	0.00%
2004	959,792	65.57%	503,966	34.43%	0	0.00%
2000	744,337	60.31%	474,276	38.43%	15,616	1.27%
1996	582,315	48.26%	488,105	40.45%	136,293	11.29%
1992	592,929	42.65%	473,066	34.02%	324,364	23.33%
1988	678,367	57.93%	483,423	41.28%	9,246	0.79%
1984	861,530	68.61%	385,080	30.67%	9,066	0.72%
1980	695,570	60.50%	402,026	34.97%	52,112	4.53%
1976	545,708	49.96%	532,442	48.75%	14,101	1.29%
1972	759,025	73.70%	247,147	24.00%	23,728	2.30%
1968	449,697	47.68%	301,658	31.99%	191,731	20.33%
1964	412,665	44.25%	519,834	55.75%	0	0.00%
1960	533,039	59.02%	370,111	40.98%	0	0.00%
1956	473,769	55.13%	385,581	44.87%	0	0.00%
1952	518,045	54.59%	430,939	45.41%	0	0.00%
1948	268,817	37.25%	452,782	62.75%	0	0.00%
1944	319,424	44.20%	401,549	55.57%	1,663	0.23%
1940	348,872	42.23%	474,313	57.41%	3,027	0.37%
1936	245,122	32.69%	501,069	66.83%	3,549	0.47%
1932	188,165	26.70%	516,468	73.30%	0	0.00%
1928	394,046	63.72%	219,174	35.44%	5,207	0.84%
1924	226,242	42.82%	255,798	48.41%	46,375	8.78%
1920	243,831	50.11%	217,053	44.61%	25,726	5.29%
1916	97,233	33.25%	148,113	50.65%	47,070	16.10%
1912	90,786	35.77%	119,156	46.95%	43,859	17.28%
1908	110,474	43.33%	122,363	47.99%	22,146	8.69%

The politics of Oklahoma exists in a framework of a presidential republic modeled after the United States. The governor of Oklahoma is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform two-party system. Executive power is exercised by the governor and the government. Legislative power is vested in the governor and the bicameral Oklahoma Legislature. Judicial power is vested in the judiciary of Oklahoma. The political system is laid out in the 1907 Oklahoma Constitution.

Oklahoma is currently categorized politically as conservative. The state has a history of Democratic state government dominance. Oklahoma came into being as a state at the height of the era of Jim Crow Laws and had a Ku Klux Klan presence in the 1920s. Race politics gave way to Democratic political infighting over the New Deal in the 1930s and 1940s and the gradual growth of the Oklahoma Republican Party's power. As a result, Oklahoma has voted for Republican candidates all but once since 1952 (in 1964), with the Democratic candidate having failed to pick up a single county in the state in all elections since 2004. Today all of Oklahoma's federal offices, and all statewide offices, are held by the Republican Party, which also holds supermajorities in both chambers of the state Legislature.

Until 1964, Oklahoma was considered a "swing state" in American politics, shifting back and forth in its support for the two major parties. This was in part due to Oklahoma's situation both as a part of the Great Plains states, which tended to be reliably Republican, and the South, which was heavily Democratic at that time. Between statehood and 1964, the state voted for the losing candidate just three times, in 1908, 1924, and 1960. However, Oklahoma voters would split their political allegiances by electing Democrats for local government, but Republicans for national office. In general, Oklahoma can be characterized as a politically conservative state.

^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Oklahoma". US Election Atlas. Retrieved December 29, 2009.

[1] Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Oklahoma". US Election Atlas. Retrieved December 29, 2009.

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