N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas won the Democratic runoff in her KiYla Jasmine Thomas Senate campaign, defeating Jim Priest for Oklahoma’s Senate nomination. The political newcomer, who had never run for office before and worked as a nurse, now moves into the general election in November against Kevin Hern.
Thomas said in a KOSU interview last month that she would use her first 100 days to push to “impeach, remove and convict” Donald Trump if elected. She also said, “Like I said, I'm kind, not nice. So I will make sure that I work as diligently as I can to make sure that within my first 100 days that we impeach, remove and convict,” and added, “But I am going to remove, impeach, remove and convict. That's it. Like that's all. That's the answer.”
N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas in Oklahoma
Thomas entered the race after taking the highest percentage of votes in the June primary contest, which had five total candidates. Her win gives Oklahoma Democrats a nominee in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in more than three decades.
She also outlined a policy pitch centered on teacher pay, restoring Roe v. Wade, and expanding Obamacare. Those proposals now carry into a race against Hern, who has Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Kevin Hern and November
The matchup is uneven on money as well as politics. Thomas has raised just shy of $60,000, while Hern’s campaign war chest peaked at nearly $10 million so far this cycle.
Donald Trump won Oklahoma by nearly 35 points in 2024, leaving Thomas with a steep path as she tries to turn a runoff win into a November challenge. The Republican nominee’s advantage in funds and the state’s voting history now define the contest she is walking into.
Thomas’s runoff victory settles the Democratic side of the race and leaves her with a clear test in November: whether a nurse and first-time candidate can build enough support in Oklahoma to make her campaign more than a protest run.
