Drew Edmondson

Drew Edmondson

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Attorney General of Oklahoma

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Elections and appointments

Last election

November 6, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Northeastern State University

Graduate

University of Tulsa School of Law

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Personal Twitter

Drew Edmondson (Democratic Party) was the Attorney General of Oklahoma. Edmondson assumed office in 1995. Edmondson left office in 2011.

Edmondson (Democratic Party) ran for election for Governor of Oklahoma. Edmondson lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Edmondson is a former Democratic attorney general of Oklahoma. He also campaigned for the Democratic nomination in the 2010 gubernatorial election in Oklahoma, but was defeated by Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins (D) by a margin of less than one percent.

Biography

• 1995-2011: Served as attorney general of Oklahoma
• 1982-1992: Served as district attorney of Muskogee County
• 1979-1982: Worked in private practice with his brother
• 1979: Worked as an assistant district attorney in Muskogee County
• 1978: Graduated with a J.D. from University of Tulsa Law School
• 1974: Elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives
• 1968-1972: Served in the United States Navy
• 1968: Graduated from Northeastern State University

Political career

Attorney general of Oklahoma

• Edmondson helped negotiate a settlement with tobacco companies in 1998 to pay several states millions of dollars annually. The Oklahoma Tobacco Trust Fund became the first constitutionally protected tobacco trust in 2000 and its endowment was nearly $1 billion in 2014.

• Following the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2009, Edmondson joined fourteen Republican attorneys general in questioning the constitutionality of a specific provision within the Senate version of the bill and exploring potential legal challenges to the measure as well. In April 2010, he decided against challenging the law.

• Edmondson filed an amici curiae brief in support of a New Jersey case that sought to require the Boy Scouts to accept gay scout leaders. The suit, filed by James Dale and the ACLU in 2000, called for Dale be reinstated as a scoutmaster after he had been dismissed once his sexual orientation became known to them.

• In 2007, Edmondson indicted national term limits activists Paul Jacob, Susan Elizabeth Johnson, and Richard Merrill Carpenter on felony charges of conspiracy to defraud the state. Between 2005 and 2006, Jacob worked in conjunction with Carpenter and his organization in an effort to place the Stop Overspending Initiative on the ballot in time for the 2006 election. The charges were based on the state's residency law that required that petition circulators legally reside in a particular political jurisdiction if the signatures they collect are to be considered valid. In 2009, after the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled that the residency requirement in Oklahoma was unconstitutional, Edmondson announced that he was dropping the charges.

Elections

2018

See also: Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 2018

See also: Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 2018 (June 26 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Governor of Oklahoma

Kevin Stitt defeated Drew Edmondson and Chris Powell in the general election for Governor of Oklahoma on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Stitt (R)	54.3	644,579
		Drew Edmondson (D)	42.2	500,973
		Chris Powell (L)	3.4	40,833

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,186,385 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Governor of Oklahoma

Kevin Stitt defeated Mick Cornett in the Republican primary runoff for Governor of Oklahoma on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Stitt	54.6	164,892
		Mick Cornett	45.4	137,316

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 302,208
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary runoff election

Libertarian primary runoff for Governor of Oklahoma

Chris Powell defeated Rex Lawhorn in the Libertarian primary runoff for Governor of Oklahoma on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Rex Lawhorn
✔		Chris Powell

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Oklahoma

Drew Edmondson defeated Constance Johnson in the Democratic primary for Governor of Oklahoma on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Drew Edmondson	61.4	242,764
		Constance Johnson	38.6	152,730

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 395,494
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Oklahoma

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Oklahoma on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mick Cornett	29.3	132,806
✔		Kevin Stitt	24.4	110,479
		Todd Lamb	23.9	107,985
		Dan Fisher	7.9	35,818
		Gary Jones	5.6	25,243
	Submit photo	Gary Richardson	4.0	18,185
		Blake Cowboy Stephens	2.7	12,211
	Submit photo	Christopher Barnett	1.2	5,240
	Submit photo	Barry Gowdy	0.5	2,347
	Submit photo	Eric Foutch	0.5	2,292

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 452,606
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of Oklahoma

Chris Powell and Rex Lawhorn advanced to a runoff. They defeated Joe Exotic in the Libertarian primary for Governor of Oklahoma on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Powell	48.9	1,740
✔	Submit photo	Rex Lawhorn	32.4	1,154
		Joe Exotic	18.7	664

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 3,558
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2010

See also: Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 2010

2010 Race for Governor - Democratic Primary
Candidates		Percentage
Jari Askins (D)		50.3%
Drew Edmondson (D)		49.7%
Total votes		263,649

2006

• 2006 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary
  • Drew Edmondson ran unopposed

On November 7, 2006, Drew Edmondson won re-election to the office of Oklahoma Attorney General. He defeated James Dunn (R) in the general election.

Oklahoma Attorney General, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Drew Edmondson Incumbent	61.2%	563,364
	Republican	James Dunn	38.8%	357,267
Total Votes				920,631
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections.

2002

• 2002 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary
  • Drew Edmondson ran unopposed

On November 5, 2002, Drew Edmondson won re-election to the office of Oklahoma Attorney General. He defeated Denise A. Bode (R) in the general election.

Oklahoma Attorney General, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Drew Edmondson Incumbent	60.1%	615,932
	Republican	Denise A. Bode	39.9%	408,833
Total Votes				1,024,765
Election results via Oklahoma State Board of Elections.

Campaign themes

2018

Campaign website

Edmondson's campaign website stated the following:

“	Education Number one — we need to raise pay for our teachers and reduce administrative costs to put money back in classrooms. This isn’t just about doing right by our teachers or giving opportunity to our kids. It’s about our future. If we want to grow our businesses and attract new ones, we must have the entrepreneurs and skilled workers to support them. We need to stop cutting higher education funding too, and invest in Oklahomans to build a more prosperous Oklahoma. It’s time for our budget to reflect our priorities. Our teachers need more than a one-time pay raise; they need a series of pay raises to make us competitive nationally so we can attract the best teachers for our kids. School funding doesn’t end with teacher pay. Our kids’ textbooks are being held together with duct tape. We need more teachers, smaller class sizes and administrative accountability. Pre-K should be available to every student, at every school. Oklahoma’s children deserve a world-class education. That starts with Pre-K. Health Care Every Oklahoman should be free to choose the best health care for themselves. Our governor’s decision to reject Medicaid expansion not only robbed tens of thousands of health care, it created an insurance monopoly that robbed Oklahomans of choice and let insurance companies set sky-high rates. It also crippled the ability of our state’s rural hospitals to provide care to low-income Oklahomans and put enormous pressure on local economies across the state. On his first day as Governor, Drew Edmondson will reverse our legislature’s harmful decision to reject Medicaid expansion funds. We need to bring both parties together and consider every option to make sure our health care market is competitive, affordable and working for our families, not insurance companies. To tackle out-of-control prescription costs, we will force the negotiation of price increases, sue companies that manipulate costs and import drugs from Canada when it is safe and effective to do so. Leadership Our Governor has been asleep at the wheel instead of leading our state. To grow our economy out of this mess, the governor must work with private industry and lead our state in economic development: Work with existing companies to expand operations and help recruit new businesses to come to Oklahoma. Right now, Oklahoma is telling a story of retreat and closed schools, not opportunity and a new era of progress. Work with every county on economic development, not just in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Rural counties are losing family farms and rural hospitals are shutting down. Focus on maximizing our return on investment. No more waste, corruption or inefficiency. All budgets will have zero-based budgeting, streamlining of executive positions and a robust whistleblower program. Staff the Department of Commerce with experienced business professionals who will drive development. No more appointments based on contributions or cronyism. Promote public-private partnerships, and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. We can breathe new life into rural communities across Oklahoma by encouraging investment, expanding fiber optic networks and passing a Family Farmers Bill of Rights to empower small farmers with fair market access. Transparency The budget should be written for Oklahomans, not lobbyists. Our budget process is broken and our priorities have been lost. Legislators are neglecting middle-class families while rewarding special interests. To invest in our people, we’ll close corporate tax loopholes in the state and expand tax deductions for middle-class Oklahomans and small businesses. It’s not the fault of Oklahoma families that we’re in this mess, and I’m sure not going to make them shoulder the load to fix it. We start by cracking down on those who broke it – the lobbying industry and corrupting political donations and establishing new transparency rules. And I’ll establish an Office of Open Government within the governor’s office to facilitate the public’s right to know. The Fallin administration’s practice of stonewalling the public ends with me. A Lifelong Advocate For Open Government and Transparency Fierce defender of Oklahoma’s Sunshine Laws Trained government officials on requirements of state’s Open Meetings and Records Acts Officially designated government emails and cell phone records as open to public inspection. Honored by Freedom of Information Oklahoma for promoting openness in government	”
—Drew for Oklahoma

Campaign advertisements

The following is an example of an ad from Edmondson's 2018 election campaign.

• "Common Sense" - Edmondson campaign ad, released September 7, 2018

Campaign contributions

2006 Race for Attorney General - Campaign Contributions
Total Raised		$663,759
Total Raised by Primary Opponent		N/A
Total Raised by Gen. Election Opponent		$342,456
Top 5 Contributors		AFSCME $5,000 (0.75% of Total)
		David J. Chernicky $5,000 (0.75%)
		J. D. Williams $5,000 (0.75%)
		Democratic Attorneys General Association $5,000 (0.75%)
		Nix, Patterson, & Roach $5,000 (0.75%)
Other Notable Contributors		AT&T $5,000 (0.75% of Total)
		Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma $4,000 (0.60%)
Individuals v. Institutions		$504,625 (76%)
		$123,850 (18.7%)
In v. Outside State		$497,821 (75.8%)
		$158,362 (24.1%)

See also

• Governor of Oklahoma
• Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 2018
• Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 2010

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Governor of Oklahoma
• Drew Edmondson's Facebook profile
• Drew Edmondson's Twitter account
• Project Vote Smart - Drew Edmondson biography
• Edmondson2010.com 2010 Campaign website
  

The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine was used to recall this version of the website from September 26, 2010.

• Freepauljacob.com
  

The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine was used to recall this version of the website from September 26, 2010.

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Susan B. Loving	Oklahoma Attorney General 1995-2010	Succeeded by Scott Pruitt