Gentner Drummond kicked off his campaign for governor at the Osage County Fairgrounds, where several hundred Oklahomans gathered and were served Drummond Beef burgers. It was an appropriate backdrop. Because whatever you think of Drummond, nobody is asking, “Where’s the beef?” As att orney general, Drummond has delivered plenty of protein. His office has repeatedly challenged the Biden administration in court, pursued insurers accused of defrauding Oklahomans, battled Ryan Walters and the State Department of Education, helped shut down thousands of illegal marijuana grows and defended the Oklahoma Constitution—even when doing so wasn’t necessarily politically convenient. BEEF. His campaign for governor is similarly straightforward. Drummond has centered it around five priorities: fix education, fix healthcare, turn around Oklahoma’s disastrous mental-health system, grow the economy and rebuild a productive relationship with Oklahoma’s tribal nations. More importantly, Drummond is running on the same basic values and positions he has held throughout this campaign. BEEF. Then there is Mike Mazzei. As the old saying goes, things aren’t always what they seem. And Mazzei’s carefully cultivated image as Oklahoma’s conservative financial savior increasingly looks like a mirage. The claim that Mazzei “saved” Oklahoma’s pension system? He certainly didn’t do it alone, and Oklahoma’s pension recovery involved reforms, investment performance and decisions extending well beyond one legislator. MANURE. The notion that his legislative record represents some uninterrupted era of fiscal brilliance? Oklahoma subsequently faced enormous budget problems. Mazzei also voted for tax increases and supported legislation that critics say contradicts the limited-government image he sells today. MANURE. And rather than defend that record, Mazzei often seems to be running away from it. Former Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb’s running mate Chip Keating has made essentially that argument publicly: Mazzei should quit reinventing his history and own his record. Chip Keating on Clowns Left, Jokers Right. Then there are Mazzei’s campaign promises. He proposes sweeping tax cuts without anything resembling a convincing explanation for replacing billions in revenue potentially lost by state and local governments. He can promise anything he wants because he knows legislators—not the governor—ultimately have to pass it. MANURE. Consider Inola. Mazzei opposed the proposed aluminum smelter before reversing himself and supporting it. That reversal preceded Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Mazzei’s campaign had also paid Roger Stone, a Trump ally. Mazzei says there was no quid pro quo. Fine. But Oklahomans are entitled to ask why his position changed. MANURE. His rhetoric toward educators has been equally troubling, including inflammatory descriptions of people in public education as liberal or socialist rather than explaining how he intends to fix schools. Then there are questions Mazzei’s campaign would prefer nobody ask. Questions have been raised publicly about his health and medication use. Mazzei responded by releasing a urine drug test. Critics—including me—have argued that a hair-follicle test would address longer-term drug-use questions more meaningfully. A urine test generally has a much shorter detection window for many opioids. That doesn’t prove Mazzei uses drugs. It doesn’t. But neither should a campaign pretend one test conclusively answers every question being raised. Submission of a urine test only concludes a person has not used the standard five drugs in the screening panel in the previous week. This is weak sauce for a guy who has been asked to show he is not impaired. Oklahomans were 76% in favor of Mazzei submitting a hair follicle test in a recent poll. Since the debate many Okies are asking: Should Mike Mazzei submit to a hair follicle test for drug usage? Log your response in this poll!— Okie (and USA) Political Memes (@OKPoliticalMeme) August 7, 2026 Mazzei’s campaign financing deserves scrutiny too. He has borrowed more than $10 million to finance his campaign, reportedly pledging business interests as collateral. Voters have every right to ask how that debt will ultimately be repaid and whether enormous personal campaign debt creates potential conflicts for someone seeking Oklahoma’s most powerful office. And then there are the millions pouring into outside advertising attacking Drummond. Club for Growth and other interests backed by billionaire political donor Jeff Yass have spent heavily in this race. MANURE. Mazzei Campaign Strategy: Lie, Flip and Hide Mike Mazzei is running attack ads lying about Gentner Drummond’s record and continues to promote the falsehood that Gentner Drummond Donated to Joe Biden. Mike Mazzei falsely implied he was being endorsed by Charles McCall and Chip Keating, also falsely saying Jake Merrick had endorsed his energy policies quite prematurely. Mike Mazzei has flip-flopped on the Inola smelter to get Roger Stone to buy an endorsement, he flipped on what he said about Oklahoma educators being liberal socialists and most recently flip flopped his previous stance in favor of flock cameras. Mazzei has cancelled nearly every public appearance, interview or occasion to be in a room with Gentner Drummond since his disastrous debate performance on August 3rd. This is by design. Every time he gets near a microphone or on camera, he drops in the polls. BEEF. On one side is Gentner Drummond: a cattleman, veteran, businessman and attorney general running on five identifiable priorities and asking voters to judge him by what he’s actually done. On the other is Mike Mazzei: enormous promises, an inconvenient legislative record, reversals on major issues, millions in outside money and a campaign financed with more than $10 million of borrowed money. I’ve spent months watching this race, and I’ve reached a simple conclusion: Mike Mazzei has spread more manure across Oklahoma than John Deere. On August 25, Republican voters get to decide what they want served for the next four years. I’ll take the beef. Drew Williamson is a Partner with Red Center Media-Oklahoma Gazette and served as Trustee of Teachers Retirement System-Oklahoma from 2019-2023. The post Oklahoma’s Choice: Drummond Beef or Mazzei Manure appeared first on Oklahoma Gazette. ...read more read less