In a competition that became increasingly personal in its final weeks, former Rep. Jon Echols beat Secretary of Energy and Environment Jeff Starling in the race for the Republican nomination to be Oklahoma’s next attorney general.
The winner of the Republican primary is the favorite to succeed Attorney General Gentner Drummond as the state’s top law enforcement officer, although Democrats are hoping former federal prosecutor Nick Coffey can win a statewide race for the party.
The attorney general GOP primary featured accusations of swamp habitation and carpetbagging, with Echols labeling Starling “Virginia Jeff” and Starling labeling Echols as “pro-China” and a “back stabber.” With a higher profile owing to years of TV appearances and legislative leadership, Echols ultimately prevailed, seemingly swaying voters with his arguments that Starling was a Washington establishment candidate.
Echols finished with about 55 percent of the vote Tuesday in the two-way matchup.
An attorney who previously worked for the Crowe Dunlevy law firm, Echols grew up in Oklahoma City and is Oklahoma City University School of Law alumnus. After losing his first legislative race, he represented House District 90 from 2012 until he was term limited in 2024. A co-founder of Turn Key Health Clinics, a multi-state county jail health care provider that has gained some notoriety for jail-based deaths, Echols was lambasted by Starling for the company’s government contracts.
Echols pitched himself to Republican voters as the far more experienced attorney in the race and touted his endorsements from a slew of county sheriffs around Oklahoma.
“There is a reason Oklahoma conservatives are rallying around this campaign. And there is a reason from the beginning you saw my opponent had to go so negative. Because he knows he’s losing,” Echols said of Starling during a May 18 debate. “He has a long political track record as a political wannabe, and he finally found an office he thinks he can buy.”
Echols has supported public funding for religious charter schools, and during the debate he called Article 2, Section 5 a “stain on the Oklahoma Constitution.”
The article in Oklahoma’s Bill of Rights prevents public money from being spent to support any specific religion or religious entity.
“The Blaine Amendment is a stain on the Oklahoma Constitution. I believe it’s blatantly unconstitutional,” Echols said. “I believe it’s against our religious liberties, and that’s why I was proud to stand with President (Donald) Trump (in the St. Isidore case), and I continue to stand with President Trump.”
Starling grew up in Virginia and is a graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law. He worked in private practice until he was appointed secretary of energy and environment by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2024.
Echols will face Coffey, the Democratic nominee, in the Nov. 3 general election. Coffey is a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma and the only other candidate to file for the office.
