Gateway Mortgage license

After a decade of rapid growth, a few Gateway employees were fired for making non-compliant loans.^[11] In 2009, Gateway was listed in a Business Insider article as one of the 15 shadiest lenders in the government-backed mortgage industry.^[12][13] The article said Gateway originated nearly twice as many bad mortgages as its competitors.^[13] An August 19, 2018, Oklahoman newspaper article highlighted the Business Insider article's inaccuracies, reporting that "in the Illinois case, a consent order states that the Illinois banking agency investigated a Gateway loan originator for an 'alleged real estate, appraisal, and mortgage fraud scheme.' Gateway fired the employee, asked for a hearing and then agreed to what investigators found. Gateway agreed to a $10,000 fine. The Stitt campaign responded with a press release that said, "the license in Illinois was never revoked. The state agreed after the appeal not to revoke the license."^[11]

NEWS9 also said that according to Georgia's Department of Banking and Finance, Stitt was banned for five years and the company was banned for life from origination mortgages in Georgia. According to the Oklahoman, a Gateway corporate attorney said there were misrepresentations and insufficient background checks by employees in the Georgia office but Stitt was not involved. The employees were fired and Gateway paid a $2,000 fine. The state overturned the lifetime ban on Gateway, effective November 2017. Gateway is able to do business in all 50 states.^[11]

During Stitt's gubernatorial campaign, Oklahoma Watch reported that Wisconsin regulators fined Gateway for a "clerical error" regarding its history with regulators from other states. Gateway corrected the application and was issued a license in 2009. It remains in good standing in Wisconsin.^[14]

2018 election

In July 2017, Stitt announced his candidacy^[15][16][17] for the Republican nomination^[18][19] for governor in 2018.^[20][21] Facing nine other candidates in the primary election, he ran a statewide campaign with stops in nearly every city and town in all 77 counties. He finished second, defeating, among others, Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb.^[22][23] In the August 28 primary runoff, Stitt defeated Mick Cornett, a former mayor of Oklahoma City.^[24] In the November general election, Stitt defeated the Democratic nominee, former Attorney General Drew Edmondson, and Libertarian Chris Powell.^[25]

In the GOP runoff, political newcomer Stitt received crucial support from a trio of conservative leaders such as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz^[26] and former U.S. Senators Rick Santorum^[27] and Tom Coburn all of whom endorsed him.^[28] In the general election, Stitt was endorsed by former primary rival Mick Cornett,^[29] incumbent governor of Oklahoma Mary Fallin,^[30] and President Donald Trump.^[31] The Stitt campaign promptly rejected Fallin's endorsement with a press release: "We did not seek [Fallin's endorsement], and Kevin Stitt has run on a campaign message that he will do things a lot differently. He is focused on changing the structure of state government and cleaning up the mess we are currently in at the Capitol."^[29]

During his campaign, Stitt called himself "the only job creator with proven business experience" running for governor^[32] and emphasized his business background.^[33] He called on the state to become "top 10 in job growth, top 10 in education and top 10 in infrastructure."^[34]

During the general election, the close race drew increased attention from national media and political figures.^[35] Vice President Mike Pence campaigned for Stitt.^[36][37][38]

2022 election

Stitt filed to run for reelection in January 2021.^[39] He won the Republican primary in June 2022 and was reelected in November.^[40][3]

Tenure

Stitt (left) attending a White House conference in December 2018, seated next to Governor-elect Brad Little of Idaho

Stitt was inaugurated on January 14, 2019, at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Chief Justice of Oklahoma Noma Gurich swore him and Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell into office. Stitt then gave a 15-minute inaugural address.^[41]

Administration personnel

Abortion

In April 2022, Stitt supported, and signed into law, SB 612, which makes performing an abortion a crime punishable by 10 years in prison or a $100,000 fine, with exceptions for medical emergencies but none for rape or incest.^[49][50] Later in May, Stitt signed into law an even more restrictive bill, House Bill 4327, "banning abortions from the stage of 'fertilization' and allowing private citizens to sue abortion providers who 'knowingly' perform or induce an abortion 'on a pregnant woman.'" Abortion in cases of rape, incest, or high-risk pregnancies will continue to be permitted.^[51] It is the most restrictive ban on elective abortion in the United States.^[52][53] The ACLU announced that it would fight the ban in court.^[54]

Capital punishment

Oklahoma has a long history with capital punishment, having conducted the second-most executions since the death penalty was reinstated in Gregg v. Georgia (1976).^[55] But in 2015, a moratorium was placed on all state executions following the botched execution of Clayton Lockett in April 2014 and the execution of Charles Warner by unauthorized methods in January 2015.^[56] On February 13, 2020, Stitt announced that the moratorium would be lifted and executions resumed under his tenure.^[57] On November 18, 2021, he commuted the death sentence of Julius Jones to life without the possibility of parole.^[58]

Criminal justice and mass incarceration

Culture war

On May 7, 2021, Stitt signed a bill prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory or its gender equivalent in public schools.^[80][81] The Oklahoman wrote that it was unclear whether critical race theory was taught at any Oklahoma public schools.^[80] Opponents of the bill said it was intended to discourage nuanced discussions about race and whitewash the United States' history on race.^[80] Stitt invoked Martin Luther King Jr. when he signed the bill.^[80]

In November, Stitt issued an executive order that prohibited transgender individuals from changing the gender on their birth certificates. In 2022, Stitt signed a bill into law that prohibited nonbinary gender markers on birth certificates. Stitt said that "people are created by God to be male or female. There is no such thing as nonbinary sex." Transgender people criticized Stitt's actions, saying it was difficult for trans individuals to navigate life when their official documents do not match their gender identity. According to the American Medical Association, "empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and nonbinary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression."^[82]

On May 25, 2022, Stitt signed a bill into law that will require students at public charter schools and public schools to use locker rooms and bathrooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificate.^[83]

In May 2023, Stitt vetoed funding for Oklahoma's PBS network OETA, accusing it of broadcasting pro-LGBT content that "indoctrinat[es]" children.^[84][85]

On August 1, 2023, Stitt issued the Women's Bill of Rights by executive order. It narrowly defines the words "male" and "female" to mean biological sex at birth.^[86]

Gamefowl Commission

In November 2023, Stitt appeared in a prerecorded video at the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission's annual meeting, saying: "You all know Oklahoma's long and storied history with gamefowl, from statehood to today. Oklahomans like yourselves remain dedicated to the spirit of competition and camaraderie that runs deep in our communities."^[87] The statement was criticized by former Governor Frank Keating, former attorney general Drew Edmondson, and animal rights groups as an endorsement of the commission's efforts to reduce the penalty for cockfighting in Oklahoma to a misdemeanor.^[87] A Stitt spokesperson responded: "The governor of course does not support animal cruelty. He supports Oklahoma agriculture and often records videos for ag groups around the state... [the governor] has not seen or endorsed any legislation on this topic."^[88] YouTube later took the video down for violating community standards by promoting animal cruelty.^[89] After Stitt's video message, the Gamefowl Commission asked its members to oppose the nomination of Sara E. Hill to the federal judiciary, saying, "our governor, Kevin Stitt, has asked that we call and email Senators Lankford and Mullin to rescind their approval of Ms. Sara Hill as a federal judge in Northern Oklahoma."^[90] Stitt had previously opposed Hill's nomination.^[91] The governor's office denied requesting that the commission oppose Hill's nomination.^[90]

Government reform

In his first state of the state address, Stitt called for increased appointment power over major state agencies. The legislature granted his request by adopting five new laws, giving him direct control over the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.^[92] These agencies were previously under the control of multi-member boards or commissions that acted independently of the governor.

In exchange for additional appointment powers and at legislative leaders' request, Stitt signed into law SB1, which established the Oklahoma Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency in the legislative branch. Under the direction of an oversight committee composed of members of the State Senate and House of Representatives, the office will provide auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the legislature relating to the governor's proposed budget and expenditures by the executive branch.^[93]

Guns

The first law Stitt signed after taking office permitted anyone 21 or older, or 18 if a member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces, to carry a firearm without obtaining a permit or completing training.^[94] Stitt also signed HB2010, which expands the places a firearm may be carried to include municipal zoos and parks, regardless of size, as long as it is concealed.^[95]

Healthcare

Stitt opposes Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma.^[96] His refusal to expand the program resulted in the filing of an citizens' initiative petition, State Question 802, to enact the expansion into the state constitution notwithstanding Stitt's opposition.

Tribal relations

Under the authority of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, in 2004 Oklahoma voters approved State Question 712, which adopted the Oklahoma State-Tribal Gaming Act. Under the Act, the State of Oklahoma offers each federally recognized Indian tribe the right to conduct commercial gambling within its territory upon accepting the terms of a uniform state-tribal gaming compact. The compact allowed the compacting tribes to conduct gaming in return for "exclusivity fees" to the state treasury averaging 6% of gaming revenues.^[97] The compact was scheduled to automatically renew on January 1, 2020.

In a July 2019 op-ed in the Tulsa World followed by a letter to the chiefs of 35 Oklahoma tribes, Stitt called on tribal leaders to renegotiate the terms of the compact before its expiration date.^[98] In particular, he called for increasing the exclusivity fees to between 13% and 25%.^[99] Stitt's office maintained the compact is not subject to automatic renewal, a claim the tribes rejected, believing it will continue indefinitely unless changes are mutually agreed upon.^[100][101] In either event, the Oklahoma Legislature would presumably have to be involved in any renegotiation, since the state's compact offer is defined and controlled by state statute, and federal law requires that the United States Department of the Interior approve any new compact terms.^[102]

In August 2019, the various tribes refused to meet with Stitt to negotiate the amount of the exclusivity fees unless he conceded that the compact would otherwise automatically renew.^[103] Stitt had proposed a September 3 date to begin discussions but the tribes rejected it.

At the end of December 2019, the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to end the dispute over the compact.^[104] On December 31, Stitt signed an extension to the hunting and fishing license compact with the Choctaw Nation, a previous point of contention.^[105]

On July 28, 2020, U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti ruled in the tribes' favor, holding that their compacts with the state automatically renewed for an additional 15-year term on January 1, 2020. A week earlier, on July 21, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the new gaming compacts signed by the state and the Comanche Nation and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe are invalid under state law. The Court ruled that Stitt "exceeded his authorities" in entering into the compacts because they would have allowed gaming that is illegal in Oklahoma, like sports betting.^[106]

On July 9, 2020, the United States Supreme Court decided in McGirt v. Oklahoma that half of the land of the state of Oklahoma made up of tribal nations like the Cherokee are officially Native American tribal land jurisdictions.^[107] Stitt, a Cherokee Nation citizen, sought to reverse the Supreme Court decision, but in 2021 Oklahoma could not block the federal action to grant the Cherokee Nation along with the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole Nations reservation status.^[108]

In May 2023, Stitt vetoed legislation that would have allowed students to wear tribal regalia during their graduation ceremonies.^[109]

In June 2023, Senator Greg Treat criticized senators who did not show up for a tribal compact vote to override one of Stitt's vetoes.^[110] The next month, he called Stitt "ineffective" and said they were one vote shy of overriding.^[111] When the override vote was called again, they got enough votes, but Stitt called it an "illegitimate process".^[112] Tribal leaders applauded the override.^[113] In July 2020, a video Stitt made had a number of erroneous claims about Native American rights, such as that they do no have to obey the speed limit.^[114]

Also, one day after the veto override, Attorney General Gentner Drummond entered a "federal lawsuit on behalf of the state" originally brought by Stitt against the U.S. Department of Interior and four tribal nations. Drummond claimed Stitt was "betraying his duties to the state and wasting taxpayer money on private law firms" and that the compacts Stitt signed "with the Comanche Nation, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Kialegee Tribal Town are invalid because he signed the compacts without first getting legislative approval for expanded types of gaming listed within them, including sports betting."^[115]

Response to disasters and emergencies

Sports betting

In January 2023, Stitt announced his support for legalizing sports betting in Oklahoma after Representative Ken Luttrell filed a bill to allow federally recognized tribes in the state to offer sports betting.^[139]

Judicial reform and appointments

Stitt signed legislation reorganizing the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. Before the reforms, Supreme Court justices were appointed from nine separate districts representing various collections of counties. Under the legislation, as of 2020 the Court's nine judicial districts were redrawn such that five were made coequal with the state's five congressional districts and the other four are at large with the state as whole.^[140] Similarly, the five judicial districts used to appoint judges to the Court of Criminal Appeals were made coequal with the congressional districts. The legislation left the method for appointing appellate judges via the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission unchanged. The reform's ostensible purpose was to increase the pool of applicants to the appellate courts.

The governor of Oklahoma is responsible for making appointments to Oklahoma state courts upon a vacancy. Candidates for appointment are reviewed by the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission, which forwards three names to the governor. The governor appoints one of the three without further confirmation. As of 2020, there are 29 appellate court judges (nine Supreme Court justices, five Court of Criminal Appeals judge, 12 Court of Civil Appeals judges, and three Court of Military Appeals judges) and 156 trial judges (75 district judges, 77 associate district judges, and four Workers Compensation Court judges) subject to the gubernatorial appointment process.