Oklahomans decided Tuesday night to keep the state’s nine appellate judges for another term while Tulsa County voters filled three district judge positions with two incumbents and an experienced judge for an open seat.
Unlike the federal judicial system that appoints judges for life, Oklahoma voters choose every six years whether their appellate judges can stay on the job.
Appellate judges are listed on a nonpartisan ballot and are not allowed to campaign, raise funds or establish campaign committees. Only one judge has not been retained since the Oklahoma judicial system was reformed nearly 60 years ago.
For Tulsa voter Patrick Colvin, who brought his child to the polls on Tuesday, judicial races were a priority along with the state questions.
“Who do you want your judges to be? … This is our opportunity to make that vote and I hope most people take the opportunity and don’t just not think about it but take time to deliberate on that vote,” Colvin said.
With 98% of precincts reporting, voters said “yes” to retain these Oklahoma Supreme Court judges:
- M. John Kane IV (58% of the vote)
- Travis Jett (57%)
- Dana Kuehn (59%)
- Richard Darby (53%)
Voters also approved Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Robert L. Hudson (58%) and Court of Civil Appeals judges:
- Stacie L. Hixon (60%)
- Jane P. Wiseman (56%)
- Deborah B. Barnes (57%)
- James R. Huber (58%)
Tulsa County judges
Voters decided on district judges for three offices. District judges appear on nonpartisan ballots and are allowed to begin campaigning 180 days before the beginning of the filing period for the office.
For Office 1, incumbent Caroline Wall defeated Creek County prosecutor Tom Sawyer with 58% of the vote. This marks a rematch for the candidates who faced each other in 2018.
For Office 4, which covers parts of east Tulsa and the Tulsa County portions of Skiatook, Collinsville, Owasso and Sperry, voters selected Loretta Radford with 53% of the vote.
This was an open seat after Judge Daman Cantrell, who has served since 2006, did not file for re-election.
Radford has been a Tulsa County special judge in the family division since 2022. Before joining the bench, she was an assistant public defender, prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District and acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District in the first Trump administration.
Office 12 covers parts of Tulsa and Pawnee counties. Incumbent Kevin Gray defeated litigator Christopher Camp, receiving 62% of the vote. Gray serves in the civil division after presiding over the Tulsa County Juvenile Division at the start of his term. Camp is a Tulsa-based attorney with more than 26 years of experience.
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