In the Republican gubernatorial primary in Oklahoma, Attorney General Gentner Drummond was narrowly defeated by less than one percentage point, with only about 2,000 votes separating him from his opponent. It is often said that "A.G." stands for "Aspiring Governor," a phrase that applied to Drummond as he sought the governorship.

Drummond faced criticism for two controversial legal positions. First, he argued that Oklahoma's charter school program was unconstitutional. This case, involving a religious-based charter school strongly supported by the Trump administration, was affirmed by an equally divided Supreme Court. Former President Trump publicly criticized Drummond on social media, stating, "He even SUED to BLOCK a religious based charter school strongly supported by my Administration — Very troubling for Educational Freedom, and an outright attack on Christianity!"

Second, Drummond hired a lifelong friend to review the capital conviction of Richard Glossip and subsequently requested the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate Glossip's death sentence. The case involved allegations that highly relevant evidence was collusively excluded.

Observers suggest that Drummond's stances on these issues may have contributed to his narrow loss in the primary.

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