U.S. Senate, Oklahoma · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in the Oklahoma U.S. Senate race?
Kevin Hern has the strongest record in the Oklahoma U.S. Senate race. Kevin Hern scores 63 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Kevin Hern's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Ron Meinhardt (5 of 15 criteria), Curtis Stinnett (4 of 15 criteria), N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas (6 of 15 criteria) and Sevier White (1 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Republican
Strongest record
Kevin Hern
63 / 100
Public evidence on 13 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 44
- Qualifications
- 85
- Performance
- 56
Independent
Ron Meinhardt
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 5 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Independent
Curtis Stinnett
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 4 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Democratic
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 6 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 65
- Performance
- NR
Libertarian
Sevier White
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 1 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 25
- Performance
- NR
The good, the bad and the unresolved
The record
The notable facts of each candidate's public life, each tied to a source and confirmed to be this person. Unresolved matters are labeled with where they stand and do not move a score.
Kevin Hern
- Mark against2021-09-15
Filed a periodic transaction report on Sept. 15, 2021 listing stock trades made in July 2021, past the 45-day deadline; his office blamed a clerical error.
Sources: House Clerk periodic transaction report, Filing ID 20019334, Business Insider, Sept. 17, 2021
- On the record2026-01 to 2026-06
Loaned his Senate campaign $5,050,000 through June 30, 2026, per FEC summary data.
Source: FEC candidate page
- On the record2026-09-23
His campaign says the Nov. 3 winner can take office on certification, while appointed Sen. Alan Armstrong disputes the timing; the Senate president pro tem asked the attorney general for an opinion.
Source: News 9, Sept. 23, 2026
- On the record2023-05-31
Voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act in May 2023 and the April 2024 Ukraine aid bill, both backed by the Republican Speaker.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 243, 2023, House Clerk Roll Call 151, 2024
- On the record2021-01-06
Voted Yea on the objections to Arizona and Pennsylvania electoral votes on Jan. 6 and 7, 2021, after joining the House amicus brief in Texas v. Pennsylvania in December 2020.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, 2021, Texas v. Pennsylvania, House amicus brief, Dec. 2020
- Credit2023 to 2026
Was the primary sponsor of the Enhancing Energy Recovery Act and the Student Empowerment Act, both enacted, per GovTrack.
Source: GovTrack, enacted legislation
Ron Meinhardt
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Curtis Stinnett
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas
- On the record2026-06-26
Declined to take part in debates or forums before the Aug. 25 Democratic runoff, saying voters had already compared the candidates; NonDoc later reported a runoff forum was announced for Aug. 22.
Source: NonDoc, July 17, 2026
Sevier White
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Kevin Hern. His Sept. 15, 2021 periodic transaction report disclosed July 2021 stock trades after the 45-day deadline; his office called it a clerical error. Annual disclosure for 2025 filed June 25, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: House Clerk periodic transaction report, Filing ID 20019334, Business Insider, Sept. 17, 2021, House Clerk financial disclosure, Filing ID 10075834, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00943142
Ron Meinhardt. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00939058
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through Aug. 5, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00899559
Sevier White. No public record found.
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Kevin Hern. Voted against the Speaker on the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act and the September 2023 continuing resolution, and against Speaker Johnson on the March 2024 appropriations package and the April 2024 Ukraine aid bill.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 243, 2023 (Fiscal Responsibility Act), House Clerk Roll Call 513, 2023 (continuing appropriations), House Clerk Roll Call 102, 2024 (appropriations), House Clerk Roll Call 151, 2024 (Ukraine supplemental)
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Kevin Hern. No public record found.
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Kevin Hern. In Congress since November 2018 after a business career owning McDonald's restaurants. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee matter found.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Kevin Hern, House Committee on Ethics site search
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
Kevin Hern. Voted Yea on the January 2021 objections to the certified electoral votes of Arizona and Pennsylvania, and joined the House amicus brief in Texas v. Pennsylvania.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021 (Arizona objection), House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021 (Pennsylvania objection), Texas v. Pennsylvania, House amicus brief, Dec. 2020
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Kevin Hern. U.S. representative for the 1st District since November 2018, in his fourth full term; earlier an aerospace engineer and McDonald's franchise owner.
Ron Meinhardt. Has worked as a chief financial officer and describes himself as a registered nurse. Has not held public office.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Ron Meinhardt, Campaign site
Curtis Stinnett. Pharmacist and Southwestern Oklahoma State University graduate running for office for the first time.
Source: News 9, Oct. 2, 2026
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. Works as a nurse and has worked as a community health worker; first run for public office.
Sevier White. No public record found.
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Kevin Hern. Serves on Ways and Means; chaired the House Republican Policy Committee in the 119th Congress until March 2026 and the Republican Study Committee in the 118th. Three bills he sponsored were enacted.
Sources: Office site, Biography, GovTrack, enacted legislation
Ron Meinhardt. Publishes positions on war powers, energy costs, health care and immigration, mostly in general terms.
Source: Campaign site
Curtis Stinnett. Publishes short position posts, including overturning Citizens United, a living wage and Medicare for All, in general terms.
Source: Campaign site, Main Ideas
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. Publishes specific federal proposals, including Medicare for All, guaranteed free school meals, federal foster care oversight standards with caseworker caseload caps, and expanding the size of the House.
Sources: Campaign site, Policies, Campaign site, About
Sevier White. No public record found.
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Kevin Hern. Offers an e-newsletter and publishes issue pages on his office and campaign sites. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: Office site, home page, News 9, Oct. 2, 2026, Ballotpedia, Kevin Hern
Ron Meinhardt. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026 and publishes an issues page.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Ron Meinhardt, Campaign site
Curtis Stinnett. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026 and publishes position posts on his campaign site.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Curtis Stinnett, Campaign site, Main Ideas
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025 and publishes plain-language policy pages. NonDoc reports her campaign has largely been conducted through social media.
Sources: Ballotpedia, N'Kiyla Thomas, Campaign site, Policies, NonDoc, Aug. 25, 2026
Sevier White. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey, and no campaign website or published issue statement was found.
Source: Ballotpedia, Sevier White
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Kevin Hern. Moved his family to Oklahoma in 1999 and lives in Tulsa. FEC by-state totals for his Senate committee show about 65 percent of itemized contributions by state from Oklahoma ($1,072,203 of $1,651,859).
Sources: Office site, Biography, FEC contribution totals by state
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. Lives in Tulsa.
Source: News 9, Oct. 2, 2026
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. Born and raised in Ardmore. FEC by-state totals show about 98 percent of itemized contributions by state from Oklahoma ($14,942 of $15,312).
Sources: NonDoc, May 27, 2026, FEC contribution totals by state
Sevier White. No public record found.
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Kevin Hern. Grew a McDonald's franchise business to 24 restaurants in northeastern Oklahoma, by his own account employing thousands. Senate committee reports are on file with the FEC with no administrative fine found.
Sources: Office site, Biography, FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00943142
Ron Meinhardt. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC with no administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00939058
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC with no administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00899559
Sevier White. No public record found.
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Kevin Hern. Legislative Effectiveness Score of 1.283 in the 118th Congress against a benchmark of 1.198, meets expectations. Primary sponsor of three enacted bills, including the Enhancing Energy Recovery Act and the Student Empowerment Act.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, enacted legislation
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Kevin Hern. Missed 57 of 3,953 roll call votes, 1.4 percent, from November 2018 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Kevin Hern. Lists one district office, in Tulsa, and offers help with federal agencies. No published casework totals found.
Sources: Office site, Biography page office list, Office site, home page
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Kevin Hern. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of -1.14263 in the latest posted House scores (118th Congress, 2023), ranked 359 of 436, in the bottom quarter.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Kevin Hern. No public record found.
Ron Meinhardt. No public record found.
Curtis Stinnett. No public record found.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas. No public record found.
Sevier White. No public record found.
How to read this
Each criterion is scored 0 to 4 against the written rubric in the Ballot Standard. NR means no record: there is no reliable public evidence either way, so the criterion is left out and never counts against the candidate. A total is published when at least 8 of 15 criteria have evidence.
A sitting officeholder has a longer public record than a first-time candidate, so the two totals rest on different amounts of evidence. Read the count of criteria beside each score. Low marks require an official finding or a primary record. Allegations and opinion are not used.
No policy position is scored. Evidence checked October 9, 2026. Campaigns and readers can send a correction with a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com.
Questions
Who should I vote for in the Oklahoma U.S. Senate race?
Kevin Hern has the strongest record in the Oklahoma U.S. Senate race. Kevin Hern scores 63 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Kevin Hern's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Ron Meinhardt (5 of 15 criteria), Curtis Stinnett (4 of 15 criteria), N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas (6 of 15 criteria) and Sevier White (1 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Who is running in the Oklahoma U.S. Senate race in 2026?
Kevin Hern (Republican), Ron Meinhardt (Independent), Curtis Stinnett (Independent), N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas (Democratic), Sevier White (Libertarian). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Kevin Hern a good candidate for U.S. Senate?
Kevin Hern scores 63 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 13 of 15 criteria: character 44 of 100, qualifications 85 of 100, performance 56 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is Ron Meinhardt a good candidate for U.S. Senate?
Ron Meinhardt has public evidence on 5 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Curtis Stinnett a good candidate for U.S. Senate?
Curtis Stinnett has public evidence on 4 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas a good candidate for U.S. Senate?
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas has public evidence on 6 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Sevier White a good candidate for U.S. Senate?
Sevier White has public evidence on 1 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
How is the strongest record decided?
The candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score has the strongest record. Each of 15 criteria on character, qualifications and performance is scored 0 to 4 from public records and established reporting, the same way for every party. No policy position is scored, and unresolved accusations never move a score.
More on this race: every Oklahoma race scored, the trailing candidate's path to victory, and the Oklahoma 2026 election guide. Independent scorecard by The Political Group, not affiliated with any candidate or party.