Man chosen as next Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tem loses primary election

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Oklahoma Senate Republicans will have to go back to the drawing board after the man they previously chose to take over as Senate President Pro Tempore next year lost his primary election Tuesday night.

Earlier this year, Oklahoma Senate Republicans chose to name Sen. Greg McCortney (R-Ada) as 'Senate President Pro Tempore—Designee.'

That meant McCortney was set to take over as Senate President Pro Tempore after current President Pro Tempore, Sen. Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City), terms out of office following November’s general election.

However, McCortney narrowly lost his Republican primary election Tuesday night to challenger Jonathan Wingard.

That means McCorntey will lose his seat in the senate after November’s general election, and will no longer be able to serve as President Pro Tempore after Treat terms out.

Mike Turpen, an analyst for KFOR’s ‘Flashpoint,’ says whoever holds the title of Senate President Pro Tempore holds a lot of power over the Oklahoma legislature.  

“The President Pro Tem would come in and create all the committee chairmanships,” Turpen said. “I pick you, I pick you, I think, over all these very important committees. He would set the agenda. He would pick the chairmen. He'd be the ‘grand poobah’ of the state Senate.”

The man who beat McCortney, fellow republican Jonathan Wingard, ran on a platform more aligned with that of Governor Stitt.

McCortney, Treat and other senate leaders had disagreements with Stitt this past legislative session—particularly when it came to Stitt’s calls for legislators to eliminate or reduce the state income tax.

“I'm very surprised that he was upset,” Turpen said. “But elections have consequences.”

Ultimately, Turpen thinks McCortney’s loss can be boiled down to time—or a lack thereof.

“He lost to Jonathan Wingard, a local, you know, who had campaigned... door to door, store to store, meet and greet, group and greet,” Turpen said. “Now while [Wingard] was out campaigning, Greg McCortney was up at the state capitol doing his business as President-Pro-Tem-to-be and as a current state senator.”

Complicating that time crunch more, Turpen says this year’s primary election happened a week earlier than normal.

In 2023, legislators passed bill moving primary elections in even-numbered years from the final Tuesday in June, to the third Tuesday.

“Everybody’s telling me this move, moving the election up a week… It cost him and others the ability to go campaign at home,” Turpen said. “And that was critical time lost on the campaign trail.”

Besides McCortney, several other Oklahoma republican incumbent lawmakers lost primaries Tuesday night to opponents who more closely aligned themselves with Governor Stitt’s agenda.

The big question still looming: who now will hold the title of Pro Tem next year?

“I'm told the leading candidates could be Chuck Hall, Lonnie Paxton, few others as well,” Turpen said. “David Bullard. I think they've got to get together in January and decide who's going to be the president Pro Tem.”