{"id":23391,"date":"2026-07-31T18:12:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=23391"},"modified":"2026-07-31T18:12:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:12:54","slug":"oklahoma-gov-kevin-stitt-has-thoughts-about-toning-down-political-fights-heres-what-he-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=23391","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has thoughts about toning down political fights. Here&#8217;s what he says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">OKLAHOMA CITY &#8212; <\/span>The last time Gov. <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/kevin-stitt\">Kevin Stitt<\/a> of Oklahoma hosted the nation&#8217;s governors, it didn&#8217;t go so well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The annual gathering of state leaders in Washington in February was <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-wes-moore-kevin-stitt-governors-dinner-58d6381ed18334e8c35af35ef2ce4122\">overshadowed by a fight<\/a> with President <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>, who refused to allow two governors \u2014 both Democrats \u2014 to attend a White House meeting. As head of the National Governors Association, Stitt successfully pressed Trump to reverse course but got an earful in the process. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Trump, who carried each of Oklahoma&#8217;s 77 counties in 2024, blasted Stitt as a \u201cRINO,\u201d meaning Republican in name only, and criticized the term-limited governor&#8217;s performance in office. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Stitt is again hosting his colleagues this weekend, this time on his home turf in Oklahoma City as he turns over leadership of the National Governors Association to Maryland Gov. <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/wes-moore\">Wes Moore<\/a>, a Democrat and one of the governors Trump had sought to exclude. In an interview, Stitt discussed the dust-up with Trump, warned against efforts to federalize elections, and expressed concern that a mammoth federal government has contributed to the country&#8217;s tense political climate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Here are highlights of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: You&#8217;ve spent the past year working closely with governors from both parties. What have you learned?<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">STITT: We agree on much more than we disagree. I was never in politics until I ran for governor. I\u2019m like everybody else. I\u2019m watching Fox News. I\u2019m in my camp, and the other guys are in the MSNBC camp, and we\u2019re over here thinking the other people are bad. But when I get in these roles and I meet the governor of Maryland and the governor of New York and these other governors, I realize that, literally, we&#8217;re all Americans. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">AP: You&#8217;ve talked a lot about states\u2019 rights. Going into <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/elections\">the midterms<\/a>, are you confident that states will be able to conduct their elections without interference from Trump or the federal government? <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">STITT: You know, I do. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">First off, I don\u2019t think that we should <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/us-elections-donald-trump-voting-fraud-db0a438023d8451c2854940504b48547\">federalize the elections<\/a> at all. I believe that is a state issue. The states should control their own elections. Should we make sure they\u2019re done fairly and U.S. citizens are voting? 100%. I think there\u2019s broad agreement with that. Oklahoma, literally, all of our absentee ballots have to be notarized. We have to know who they are. And then they have to be in by Election Day. So they\u2019re all counted, and then when the polls close at 7, we drop all the absentee and early votes counted. Bam, you know what they are at 7:01. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">It is weird that in a swing state, in a certain county, it takes them a month to count the votes. So rightly, you should be questioning some of these things. But Oklahoma does it the right way, and those are the things that I\u2019m responsible for. But, yeah, I trust our election process. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">AP: But if you were to look at those vote swings, do you trust governors of those states to look at that as opposed to Washington?<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">STITT: 100%. I don\u2019t think we should federalize that. Because then you\u2019ve got a pendulum swing. What about the next guy gets in office and the next guy and the next guy? The system that we have with 50 different states is the right system. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Now, <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/save-america-act-b6fcf12d7ef9434a1d4e788367291f60\">the Save America Act<\/a>, making sure that we know who\u2019s voting, I think that\u2019s a very legitimate thing to do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">AP: You pushed back against the president when he wanted to exclude two Democratic governors from a White House meeting. The president had some words for you as well at the time. As a Republican, how do you disagree with the president? <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">STITT: All I simply said was, \u201cHey, we can\u2019t call this a National Governors Association meeting if you\u2019re not going to have all the governors there.\u201d And so, to President Donald Trump\u2019s credit, he said, and I think he was getting bad information from staff at the time, but, yes, we talked, and all the governors were invited to the business meeting. He excluded a couple of governors from <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-wes-moore-kevin-stitt-governors-dinner-58d6381ed18334e8c35af35ef2ce4122\">the dinner<\/a>. But that\u2019s all I basically said. I didn\u2019t want to get on the bad side of the president. But we have a good working relationship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">I\u2019m trying to do what\u2019s best for Oklahoma. In that case, I was representing the National Governors Association. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">AP: It sometimes seems that when Republicans push back against the president, it\u2019s often <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/congress-republicans-trump-opposition-agenda-midterms-86e5dba366f4293d32cebcdf9b2a49d2\">when they\u2019re leaving office<\/a>. Should there be more open and frequent disagreement?<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">STITT: Well, I mean, sure. If there\u2019s something that we fundamentally think is going to be bad for our country, we all should say something. Every citizen, regardless if you\u2019re a Republican or a Democrat, we should say, \u201cHey, that\u2019s the wrong approach.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">AP: How do we bring down the temperature in politics? <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">STITT: I think one of the reasons the temperature\u2019s so hard, so loud and divisive, is because of this one-size-fits-all, huge federal government. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Then we want whatever idea we have, then we want everybody to do it across the country. And that is not how our founders set it up. They thought that New York was different from Delaware, different from Virginia and South Carolina and Maryland. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">And that\u2019s OK, and that\u2019s what I tell people. Hey, Minnesota&#8217;s elected Gov. Tim Walz. That\u2019s OK. Why does that bother me in Oklahoma? Why do I care what Mayor Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s doing in New York City? It shouldn\u2019t affect me. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But politics is becoming like, if Kamala Harris wins, she\u2019s going to try to make Oklahoma like California. We don\u2019t want to be like California. And so I think if we can bring that temperature down and say, \u201cHey, it\u2019s OK that the states are different and they have different values and philosophies.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">AP: What do you see as the future of the Republican Party? <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">STITT: I hope we get back to the fiscal piece of our party. Like in 1994, when Newt Gingrich came in with the Contract with America, and President Bill Clinton was in office, we balanced a budget. Now, Congress won\u2019t even vote on a budget \u2014 it&#8217;s continuing resolutions. And our Founding Fathers would just be like, \u201cWhat is this? What do you mean they don\u2019t ever vote on the budget? That\u2019s all their job is.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">AP: Do you plan on running for anything again, maybe national office? <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">STITT: I\u2019m just going to finish my job as governor and plan on going back to the private sector, and we\u2019ll see what happens in the future. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OKLAHOMA CITY &#8212; The last time Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma hosted the nation&#8217;s governors, it didn&#8217;t go so well. The annual gathering of state leaders in Washington in February was overshadowed by a fight with President Donald Trump, who refused to allow two governors \u2014 both Democrats \u2014 to attend a White House meeting&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/6a34c9da-e80e-488a-bbf9-e3f8f138a81f\/wirestory_fed7a48c5fc98fd61e0f32bf61a884bb_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}