Who’s left so far as candidates?
Ray’s decision leaves two candidates who have filed with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission and created campaign committees and accepted campaign contributions.
They are State Sen. Brad Boles, R-Marlow, and Justin Hornback of Broken Arrow.
Campaign contribution reports on file with the Ethics Commission show Sen. Boles with a balance of $475,538.60 in his campaign fund. It listed $389,310.15 in contributions as well as another $2,700 of in-kind contributions. He also listed a $100,000 loan in his bid for the office to be vacated in January 2027 by Corporation Commissioner Hiett.
Boles has already received the support of some of the state’s major utilities, including a $5,000 contribution from the AEP Committee for Responsible Government PAC. AEP is American Electric Power company, parent firm to Public Service Company of Oklahoma headquartered in Tulsa.
Another $5,000 contribution was listed from the Oklahoma Petroleum Alliance PAC. A $2,500 contribution was made b OGE Energy Corp. Employees PAC. Another contribution of $2,500 came from the ONEOK Employees PAC. Other contributions were made by attorneys for some of the utilities. Valero Corporation contributed $1,500 and OGE executive Robert Trauschke gave $500.
Justin Hornback has experience in campaigning for the Corporation Commission. This will be his third attempt to win a seat on the commission. Hornback ran for a seat on the Corporation Commission in 2022, finishing in third place in the GOP Primary with 20.35 percent of the vote.
He lost two years ago in the Republican primary and Brian Bingman eventually won the general election with 63.7% of the votes. Hornback re-entered this year’s race and the Ethics Commission listed $15,361.11 in monetary and $1,1389.27 of in-kind contributions but a final balance of $5.740 in the campaign.
He has worked for two decades in the energy industry and pointed to his knowledge in transmission pipelines, energy generation, regulations and safety. Hornback worked with leadership of the Pipeliners Union 798 from 2017 to 2021.
Hornback ran for a seat on the Corporation Commission in 2022, finishing in third place in the GOP Primary with 20.35 percent of the vote.
So far, no Democrat has announced nor filed as a candidate. The state’s official candidate filing period will be April 1-3. Those candidates for Corporation Commission face a $1,000 filing fee with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.