The Frontier’s Executive Editor Dylan Goforth spoke with Democratic House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson about her decision to run for governor. Munson, D-Oklahoma City, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2015 and is the first Asian-American woman to serve in the Oklahoma Legislature. She is the first Democratic candidate to enter the 2026 governor’s race. This is an excerpt of their conversation.
Dylan Goforth: We’ve gotten kind of an early start to the governor race. You’re one of, I believe now it’s five people currently who’ve announced a run for governor. There has been a lot of discussion since Attorney General Gentner Drummond kicked off the race about who might run as a Democrat. There are a lot of Republican names floating around. But the question was who would be the November opponent? Why is that you?
Cyndi Munson: I won my special election in 2015. I did run in 2014 but I was unsuccessful. So I have been knocking doors for over a decade now, which is so crazy to think about. And as you know, I’m the first Democrat to win in House District 85 in central Oklahoma City, which also includes the village in Nichols Hills. Former Governor Mary Fallin, Attorney General Mike Hunter, used to represent this area. So it’s very Republican, never once held by a Democrat. And so that means that I have spent a lot of time talking to a wide range of people, people with different political affiliations and ideologies.
I felt like I wanted to take the fight that I’ve been fighting at the capitol to a higher level. I felt like we can’t have an unopposed governor’s race. I don’t think that would have happened anyways, but it was important to me as a Democratic leader to have somebody who would stand up talk about the issues that everyday Oklahomans are talking about. And I think what people are looking for right now is just a normal person who understands what everyday people go through and wants to stand up and do something about it.
Goforth: Yeah, you mentioned a little bit about some of your platform. I want to talk about some of these things. For instance, increasing teacher pay, providing taxpayer relief, two things that you have talked about and are mentioned on your website. How would you accomplish those tasks as governor? And why are those two of the top priorities for you?
Munson: Yeah, education in particular is incredibly important to what we’re what we want to accomplish in Oklahoma. How do we recruit business to Oklahoma? But also, how do we keep business in Oklahoma? How do we keep Oklahomans here? And it comes down to education, healthcare, and so we’ve got to get to a place where we say we value our teachers, not just by saying it, but by proving it.
In terms of tax relief … my argument is if we’re going to help corporations or we’re going to help the wealthiest people in Oklahoma, can we at least consider everyday working people? So I’ll keep doing that until we get out of session later here in about a month and a half. And if I can’t get it accomplished as a legislator, those will be priorities as governor.
Goforth: Let’s talk about another piece of your platform. You say that you want to end Oklahoma’s abortion ban, which obviously is very strict, and right now there’s no exceptions for rape or incest. And you say you want to send that to a vote of the people. How would you accomplish that as governor?
Munson: There is an effort by Oklahomans who are trying to figure out a way to get an initiative petition going. It would be something that. And unlike our current governor, who continues to make it more and more difficult and puts barriers in place to getting a state question on the ballot, I would not get in the way of that.
I have filed legislation in the last few years to put the question on the ballot. And of course, that hasn’t been heard. And so you see Republicans right now are trying to silence the voices of those in urban Oklahoma, to make it more difficult to get signatures and get a petition going.
I can tell you there’s polling that has come out there over the last several years, as these conversations have become more and more intense and more serious in terms of where we’re at today, where there’s absolutely no access to abortion care. In Oklahoma, over 52% of our counties are maternity healthcare deserts. So it is a dire situation in Oklahoma when it comes to women’s health care. And so I think that the people of Oklahoma would say we’ve gone too far, and we need to figure out a way to make sure that women have access to the health care they need, and that includes abortion access.
Goforth: That’s all the questions I have for you. Is there anything else that you want our listeners and readers to know about you and your campaign?
Munson: I think if you’re feeling anxious, frustrated, even happy or excited about what’s in store for the future, I think now is the time to get involved in campaigns. It is these local elections, our legislative races, your gubernatorial races, that have the most direct impact on you. Ask us the tough questions and get us to talk about the things that are on your mind. You have that power as a voter, and you should absolutely use it.
For the full interview Rep. Cyndi Munson, listen to the podcast here.
