By Cara Cowan Watts, Cherokee411.com
As Oklahoma prepares for its November 3, 2026, general election, Cherokee Nation citizens hold positions at every level of state government — from the governor’s office and the state Senate to the Oklahoma House of Representatives — and several are competing for new offices this election cycle. Cherokee411.com offers the following roundup of Cherokee Nation citizens currently serving in Oklahoma elected office and those on the ballot in 2026.
Governor’s Office
Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Cherokee Nation citizen, is serving his final term as Oklahoma’s governor. Oklahoma law limits governors to two four-year terms in their lifetime, making Stitt ineligible to seek reelection. Stitt has served since January 2019 and has been a controversial figure in state-tribal relations, publicly opposing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which affirmed that much of eastern Oklahoma constitutes Indian Country under federal law. He has been quoted saying the decision has “torn Oklahoma apart.”
With Stitt’s departure, both major parties’ candidates for governor have taken markedly different positions on tribal relations. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and former state budget secretary Mike Mazzei face each other in an Aug. 25 Republican primary runoff — Drummond earned 105,787 votes to Mazzei’s 104,629 in the June 17 primary, with neither clearing the 50 percent threshold required to avoid a runoff. Both Drummond and Mazzei have expressed support for McGirt and pledged to work with tribal nations on compact negotiations. Neither Drummond nor Mazzei is a tribal citizen. The winner of the Republican runoff will face Oklahoma House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, Democrat, in the November 3 general election.
Oklahoma State Senate
Sen. Ally Seifried, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Republican, represents Senate District 2, covering parts of Rogers and Tulsa counties in the Claremore area. Born and raised in Claremore, Seifried is a ninth-generation Oklahoman who attended Claremore Christian School, then graduated summa cum laude from Rogers State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science, where she also played on the women’s basketball team on an athletic scholarship. Before running for office, she worked as an executive assistant to then-state Sen. Dan Newberry, as a development specialist for Safenet Services, a domestic abuse and sexual assault prevention agency serving Rogers and Tulsa counties and in branding and marketing. She and her husband, JP Seifried, are both Cherokee Nation citizens and come from families with small business backgrounds. She currently works in her family’s small business as special projects manager when not at the Capitol.
Seifried was first elected to the Senate in 2022, defeating Democrat Jennifer Esau in the general election. Her most notable legislative achievement is Senate Bill 139, which removes cell phones from classrooms on a bell-to-bell basis; the bill passed the Senate in 2025 and allows districts flexibility after the 2025-26 school year. She has also championed moving school board elections to November. Seifried won the June 16, 2026, Republican primary with 66 percent of the vote over challenger Payton Pepin and will face Democrat Randy Cowling, a former director of Owasso Community Resources, in the November 3, 2026, general election.
Sen. Shane Jett, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Republican, currently represents Senate District 17, covering parts of Oklahoma and Pottawatomie counties. Jett, of Shawnee, was first elected to the Senate in 2020 and his current term runs through November 2026. He also previously served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010 and is the founding chair of the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus. Oklahoma’s 12-year combined legislative term limit applies to Jett’s combined House and Senate service, making him ineligible to seek another Senate term. Four Republican candidates competed in a June 16, 2026, primary to succeed him, with a runoff, if needed, set for Aug. 25, and a special election for the seat scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Rep. Ken Luttrell, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Republican representing House District 37 (Ponca City), is a fifth-generation Oklahoman whose Cherokee ancestors survived the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory, settling near Grand Lake. A U.S. Army veteran with 28 years in retail management and a career in tribal public relations and economic development, Luttrell previously served in the legislature from 2006 to 2010 and returned in 2018. He currently serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Oversight and chairs the Appropriations and Budget Select Agencies Subcommittee. He is a co-chair of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Native American Caucus and serves on the Executive Committee of the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators.
Rep. Amanda Clinton, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Democrat, represents House District 71 in Tulsa. Clinton was born in Tahlequah and raised near Rose in Mayes County, where her Cherokee ancestors settled nearly 200 years ago. A former journalist and Emmy Award winner for creating and producing Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People, on PBS, she spent 15 years as a senior executive with the Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses before founding her own consulting firm. Clinton won a competitive special election in June 2025 to fill the seat vacated when former Rep. Amanda Swope, a Muscogee Creek Nation citizen, accepted a position in the Tulsa mayor’s administration. She was sworn in on June 18, 2025, becoming the third Native woman to represent HD71. Her seat is up for re-election in November 2026. Clinton serves on the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, the Government Oversight Committee, the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee, the Health and Human Services Oversight Committee, and the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Rep. Michelle McCane, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Democrat, represents House District 72 in Tulsa. McCane made history in 2024 as the first woman and openly LGBTQIA2s+ person elected to represent the district and is also the second person of color to hold the seat. A Tulsa native, she earned her GED in 2003 and pursued higher education while raising her children. She earned an associate’s degree from Tulsa Community College in 2012, a bachelor’s degree in 2014, and a master’s degree in 2018, both from Northeastern State University. McCane began her professional career in education in 2010 with Tulsa Public Schools, serving as a teacher assistant, English teacher, and later as a Library Media Specialist. She earned Teacher of the Year honors at McLain High School in 2020-21 and at Traice Academy in 2023-24. Following the 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout, McCane took on leadership roles within the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association, advocating for equitable resources, fair wages, and stronger support systems for teachers and students. She assumed office Nov. 20, 2024. McCane serves on the House Appropriations and Budget Committee’s Education and Judiciary subcommittees, the Commerce and Economic Development Oversight Committee’s Transportation and Tourism subcommittees, the Education Oversight Committee’s Postsecondary Education subcommittee, and the Administrative Rules Committee. She will face Republican Adam Martin in the November 3, 2026, general election.
Rep. John Pfeiffer, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Republican currently representing House District 38, is not seeking reelection to his House seat. His sixth and final term ends in November 2026. Pfeiffer, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Deputy Floor Leader of the Oklahoma House, is instead running for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor. He advanced to an Aug. 25 Republican primary runoff against Rep. Kevin West of Moore after neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the June 17 primary. The winner of the runoff will face Democrat Kevin Dawson and Libertarian Mike Hall in the November 3 general election. The seat is open following Commissioner Leslie Osborn’s departure due to term limits.
House District 86: A Cherokee-on-Cherokee Race in November
Two Cherokee Nation citizens will face each other in the November 3, 2026, general election for Oklahoma House District 86, which covers Adair, Cherokee, Mayes, and Delaware counties in northeastern Oklahoma.
David Hardin, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Republican, won the party’s nomination for the seat in the June 17 primary. Hardin served as Assistant Majority Whip in the 59th Legislature. He serves on the House Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee, where he chairs the Public Safety subcommittee, and also serves on the Appropriations and Budget Committee’s Public Safety Subcommittee, the Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee’s Agriculture subcommittee, the Criminal Judiciary subcommittee, the Conference Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight, and the Joint Task Force on the Grand River Dam Authority. A strong advocate for agriculture, education, small businesses, economic development, and stronger infrastructure, Hardin works in the property and casualty insurance industry and is a cattle producer who raises registered Anatolian shepherds as livestock guardian dogs. He is married and is a sixth-generation resident of Adair County. Hardin is fighting for his constituents to ensure they always have a voice in Oklahoma City to continue their way of life in rural northeastern Oklahoma.
Hannah Cole, a Cherokee Nation citizen from the Rose area, is the Democratic candidate. Cole, a geriatric nurse with more than a decade of experience, was born in Hastings and raised in northeastern Oklahoma. She grew up on a small farm where her father was a carpenter and her mother a nurse, and spent much of her childhood on her grandparents’ dairy farm. After her father’s passing in 2024, she and her husband returned to her father’s land in Oklahoma. Her campaign is centered on protecting rural land and communities, expanding practical access to health care in rural areas, and giving voice to northeastern Oklahoma constituents at the state Capitol.
The HD86 matchup will mark a rare instance of two citizens of the same tribe running against each other for a state legislative seat.
House District 4: Wier Challenges Incumbent Culver
Christopher Wier, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Democrat from Tahlequah, is the Democratic candidate for Oklahoma House District 4 and will face Republican incumbent Bob Ed Culver in the November 3, 2026, general election. Wier, 24, was born and raised in Stigler and is a student at Northeastern State University. A musician, community advocate, and tribal citizen, Wier ran for the same seat in 2024, losing to Culver in the general election, and has returned with stronger community connections and greater campaign experience. His platform centers on rural education, rural health care access, and tribal sovereignty.
House District 77: Gabriel Wins Seat Outright
Kristina Gabriel, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Democrat, won House District 77 outright after no Republican filed. She will appear on the November 3, 2026, general election ballot and, barring an independent or write-in challenge, will serve in the upcoming legislative session. Gabriel is a public health researcher and community organizer from Tulsa’s White City neighborhood. She holds an Associate of Arts from Tulsa Community College, a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Fort Lewis College, and a Master of Science in Forensic Investigation with a graduate certificate in Public Health from Oklahoma State University. She is trained in Community-Based Participatory Research and has published peer-reviewed research on Indigenous health, with work supported by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her research has focused on strengthening health outcomes in Indigenous communities, informing state, federal, and tribal policy on food sovereignty and community-driven health solutions. Gabriel has a background in grassroots organizing and has partnered with tribes and community organizations across the country. She is committed to expanding health care access, strengthening tribal-state relationships, and protecting fundamental rights.
Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor: Boles Advances to November
Brad Boles, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Republican representing House District 51, won the Republican nomination for Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor in the June 17 primary and will face Democrat Rhonda Eastman in the November 3, 2026, general election. A lifelong resident of Stephens County, Boles graduated from Marlow High School, earned an associate’s degree from Eastern Oklahoma State College — where he was an Academic All-American baseball player — and completed his bachelor’s degree at Dallas Baptist University, where he also played NCAA Division I baseball. He holds a dual MBA in finance and business management, earned with honors. Before entering public service, Boles served as president of his family’s manufacturing business for ten years, growing it from 100 employees to nearly 500 before it was sold to a publicly traded company. He later co-founded Philtek Services, which employs more than 100 people across eight states. Boles served as mayor of Marlow from 2014 to 2018, as president of the Marlow Chamber of Commerce, and on the Marlow Public School Board of Education. He is an ordained deacon and treasurer at First Baptist Church of Marlow. First elected to the Legislature in 2018, Boles currently chairs the House Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee. His landmark Behind the Meter legislation has generated significant new energy investment across the state. He and his wife Michelle live in Marlow and have two children.
Other Native Candidates on the 2026 Ballot
Additional Native candidates are on the ballot in 2026. Because Cherokee411.com’s focus for this report is on Cherokee Nation and UKB citizens, the following are noted for reference: Ronald “Ron” Stewart, Choctaw, won the HD73 seat outright; Chelsey Branham, Chickasaw, won the Democratic nomination for HD85 and will face Republican Joe Fallin on November 3; and N’Kiyla “Jasmine” Thomas, Chickasaw, faces Democrat Jim Priest in a Senate nomination runoff, with the winner facing Republican Kevin Hern in the November 3 general election.
To the best of our knowledge, no citizens of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians or the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians currently serve in a State of Oklahoma elected office or appear on the 2026 state ballot. If you know otherwise, or if we have missed a Cherokee Nation citizen serving in state office, please send tips to Cherokee411.com. We hope to expand our coverage to include county and municipal roles within the jurisdiction of each tribe as we grow and are able to hire additional staff.
The November 3, 2026, general election will determine which Cherokee Nation citizens hold office in Oklahoma’s state government for the next term — and, in the case of the governor’s race, may significantly reshape the state’s relationship with its 38 tribal nations for years to come.
