Mike Mazzei and Gentner Drummond rallied voters through competing call-in town halls on the eve of a tense runoff election in the Republican race for governor.
Mazzei's rally lasted about 15 minutes, while Drummond's lasted over an hour as both candidates attempted to garner last-minute support. The competing campaign events took place Monday, Aug. 24, a mere 14 hours before voting begins on Election Day, Aug. 25.
Political experts have repeatedly said the race is incredibly close and have hesitated to predict a winner.
President Donald Trump spoke for nearly half of Mazzei's rally, calling on Oklahomans to support his pick in the race. Drummond devoted most of his time to appealing to voters directly as he answered questions from callers across the state.
Throughout the runoff race, Mazzei and Drummond have offered distinct visions for Oklahoma, with Mazzei prioritizing tax cuts and pro-Trump policies and Drummond focusing on improving the state's poor quality of life measures.
The outcome of the election could serve as a testing ground for Trump's continued support in red states like Oklahoma, where he has won every county in each of his three most recent bids for president. If Republican voters choose a gubernatorial nominee who is not Trump's pick, it could signal the president's sway in stronghold states has receded.
The election eve rallies marked the candidates' final chances to convince voters to side with them.
Trump delivered a seven-minute stump speech on Mazzei's behalf. The president called the Tulsa financial planner a "MAGA warrior" and announced that Markwayne Mullin, the U.S. Homeland Security secretary and a native Oklahoman, was backing Mazzei in the race.
Trump heralded Mazzei's moves as a state senator and as Gov. Kevin Stitt's budget secretary, a position he held for 18 months during Stitt's first term. He credited Mazzei with lowering the state's taxes and with growing the state's savings during his time in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Trump also defended his proposal to build an aluminum smelter in Inola, which has become a key issue in the race. The move has been condemned by locals who have feared that the plant will pollute their town.
Although Mazzei first criticized the plant, he later expressed support for it hours before receiving Trump's endorsement, posting on X celebrating the project.
During Mazzei's campaign rally, Trump said the smelter would lower taxes "because they'll pay a lot of taxes."
"I can say this, this country desperately needs aluminum," Trump said. "I know the people that are behind that plant. They're unlimited wealth. They will do an unbelievable job. They're very excited about it, and it will be a tremendous job producer."
Emirates Global Aluminum, a state-owned enterprise of the United Arab Emirates, holds a 60% interest in the project. The plant's potential foreign control has been another point of controversy.
Drummond has worked to block the plant through legal channels and turned his opposition to the project into a keystone of his campaign. On the Monday, Aug. 24, call, he reiterated his commitment to blocking the plant as attorney general until he could take the governor's office.
In response to a voter and landowner in Inola, Drummond said, "Now if I don't get the nomination, I don't mean to be Draconian, but I would consider selling my land if I were you," before criticizing Mazzei's position on the issue.
The Republican hopeful took questions from multiple concerned residents of Inola. He also addressed residents and representatives from other rural parts of the state, including Clinton and the Panhandle.
Drummond has relied on his background in ranching and agriculture to connect with voters from western and southern Oklahoma, where both candidates have many untapped votes to gain.
"We need somebody that understands the plight of rural Oklahoma, understands the importance of farming and ranching across our state," Drummond said.
In all, Drummond answered 22 questions from two rural state representatives, teachers, a former police union president, elementary school students, veterans, and landowners and ranchers.
Clay Bennett, who leads the ownership group of the Oklahoma City Thunder, gave the $3,500 maximum individual contribution to Gentner Drummond.
The smelter has become just one of the many areas where Drummond and Mazzei diverge, including how they've paid for their campaigns.
In the last campaign finance reporting period, Drummond both outspent and outraised Mazzei, garnering nearly $2.3 million from individual contributions from June 6 through August 10. Mazzei raised about $816,000.
Mazzei has heavily relied on personal loans to support his campaign, taking out more than $11 million in loans throughout the race. This move has raised the eyebrows of political experts in the state, who are concerned by the prospect of a governor entering the office deeply in campaign debt.
Yet Mazzei has picked up more high-profile endorsements than Drummond. During the rally, Trump criticized Drummond as a "RINO" and said Drummond does not stand for Oklahoma values. The term stands for "Republican in name only."
For his part, Drummond asked voters to "stand up against outsiders" in the election.
"The political elite who are fighting me, the billionaires from Pennsylvania, State Farm, Allstate, Big Pharma, even the President of the United States wants to tell you who will be your next governor," he said, while asking voters to consider who is more qualified for Oklahoma's highest office.
Mazzei did not take questions from callers. He spoke for less than a minute before introducing Trump. Mazzei returned to the call after Trump spoke and laid out his platforms and urged voters to choose him.
"When true conservative Republicans turn out strong tomorrow and vote, we will have a historic victory," Mazzei said. "I am super optimistic about Oklahoma because when the voters choose freedom and faith and unite behind the solid plan together, we can usher in a golden age of growth, opportunity and prosperity for our kids and grandkids."
Mazzei also called on voters who supported Jake Merrick, Charles McCall and Chip Keating — the competitors he and Drummond beat in the June primary — to vote for him. He has made this call repeatedly since securing enough votes to make it to the runoff.
He ended his rally by imploring callers to stay on the line to complete a poll. A moderator then asked voters if Mazzei could count on their vote. Callers had the option to press 1 confirming they were aligning with Trump and voting for Mazzei. They could press 2 to confirm they were not voting for Mazzei, or they could press 3 to state that they were undecided in the race.
The winner of the Republican nomination will face Democratic candidate Cyndi Munson and three independents in the general election Nov. 3.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Drummond, Mazzei make final pitches in Oklahoma GOP governor race