N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas won Oklahoma’s Democratic Senate primary runoff on August 25, securing 61.2% of the vote and advancing to the November general election as the party’s nominee for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.
Thomas, a 31-year-old nurse and Chickasaw Nation citizen from Ardmore, defeated attorney Jim Priest, who received 38.8% of the vote. The runoff followed a June primary in which Thomas led a five-candidate field with 45% of the vote while Priest finished second with nearly 24%, neither exceeding the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff.
Thomas’s victory makes her Oklahoma’s first major-party nominee to openly identify as a democratic socialist, a designation that aligns her policy priorities with those of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her platform includes support for a Medicare-for-All-style single-payer health care system, labor unions, and restoration of Roe v. Wade, according to her campaign materials.
The race reflected a broader Democratic divide between progressive and moderate wings. Priest, 70, a lawyer and nonprofit CEO from Oklahoma City, carried endorsements from the state’s Democratic establishment, including former governors Brad Henry and David Walters and former Attorney General Drew Edmondson. Thomas, by contrast, conducted a grassroots campaign largely through social media with minimal fundraising—her war chest stood at roughly $450 as she entered the general election, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Thomas will face U.S. Representative Kevin Hern, the Republican nominee, in November. Hern won his primary in June with nearly 70% of the vote and has raised $9 million for the general election, with $2 million on hand. Oklahoma’s strong Republican lean makes Hern the overwhelming favorite, and no non-incumbent Democrat has won a Senate race in the state since 1978.
Thomas’s victory reflects a broader 2026 trend of democratic socialist gains in Democratic primaries. In Florida’s Senate primary earlier this month, State Representative Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, defeated Alexander Vindman in an upset win. While not an official member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Thomas identifies with the movement and appears to be the first to win a major-party nomination for statewide office in Oklahoma.
Sources
- NBC News — called the race for Thomas with 59% of precincts reporting, showing her at 61.2% against Priest’s 38.8%
- The New York Times — confirmed the race was called by the Associated Press and provided runoff context
- NonDoc Media — provided biographical details on Thomas (age, profession, background), Priest’s endorsements and profile, campaign finance figures, and context on democratic socialism in Oklahoma
- The Hill — confirmed Thomas’s democratic socialist identification and her defeat of Priest
- USA Today — provided context on democratic socialist victories in 2026 primaries, including Angie Nixon’s Florida win
- Wikipedia — confirmed Hern’s June primary victory margin (nearly 70%), fundraising figures, and the last Democratic Senate winner in Oklahoma (David Boren, 1994)
