Forty-one Oklahoma state legislative incumbents face primary contests in 2026, the most at any point since 2010. This is a 41% increase in the number of incumbents facing challengers compared to 2024.
Four of the contested incumbents are Democrats, and 37 are Republicans. Thirty are state representatives, and 11 are state senators.
Oklahoma has 63 contested state legislative primaries in 2026, up 24% from 2024.
Of these, there are nine for Democrats and 54 for Republicans. For Democrats, this is up from 6 in 2024, a 50% increase. Contested Republican primaries are down 20% from 45 in 2024.
In total, 293 major party candidates filed to run. One-hundred are Democrats, and 193 are Republicans. All 101 House seats and 24 of 48 Senate seats are up for election.
Twenty seats are open, meaning no incumbents filed. This means newcomers will make up at least 13% of the legislature next year. The average number of open seats each cycle from 2010 to 2024 was 27.
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