The Oklahoma State Capital

Republican statewide candidates Gentner Drummond and Robert Franklin got frank with government employees during closed-access presentations at the 2026 Oklahoma Summit, newly obtained audio reveals.

Drummond called for the defeat of the constitutional voter ID proposal and introduced an education agenda, based on a new New Mexico law, designed to reach children at birth. Franklin recounted his former responsibility for administering corporal punishment, including a recent encounter in which a former student told him, “Mr. Franklin, you hit me so hard.”

The unusually candid and specific comments came as both candidates were competing in statewide Republican races ahead of the immediately impending Aug. 25 election.

Speaking before a packed crowd of government employees, Drummond boasted that 45 legislators were supporting his campaign in “direct opposition to the president of the United States” and explained that, as governor, he would assemble a coalition capable of holding the line on education funding.

He then encouraged attendees to oppose both legislatively proposed state questions appearing on the Aug. 25 ballot, explaining that he loves the legislators but does not trust them.

“So, we have to vote no on both state questions,” Drummond declared. “Just don’t tell any legislator I said that, okay?”

Drummond never explained the specific basis for his opposition to State Question 846, the proposal to enshrine a voter identification requirement in the Oklahoma Constitution; but he suggested lawmakers had selected the August election date for the state questions because “traditionally Republicans are not as strong in education as they should be.” He called on Libertarians, Democrats and independents to turn out and help defeat the proposals.

Drummond then introduced what he described as his top priority as governor: an education initiative beginning with children in the cradle.

“We’ve got to start at the zero-year-old, that little newborn, to the five-year-old,” Drummond told attendees.

He said 60% of the brain develops during the first years of life, while contending that 60% of Oklahoma children live in households where they are not being properly stimulated, fed or disciplined. As a result, Drummond said, Oklahoma kindergarten teachers are receiving “feral children” in their classrooms.

Drummond pointed to New Mexico’s newly universal subsidized child care program, suggesting that Oklahoma initially subsidize child care for families earning $58,000 or less—up from what he described as the current income threshold of $15,000 or less.

He appeared to suggest that the program, like the recent expansion in New Mexico, could eventually become universal, allowing children to enter quality child care centers where they would be fed, their minds would be stimulated and they would learn the discipline required to sit in a classroom.

Drummond also spoke of his desire to incorporate CareerTech into the plan, saying Oklahoma has a deficit of 50,000 skilled trade workers.

“Now, folks, that’s an education policy from that newborn to the 19-year-old into your system so that we can meet the needs and the demands of Oklahoma in the future,” he explained.

Drummond told attendees that, if elected, his wife, Wendy, would focus on mental health, drug addiction and homelessness as part of her platform as first lady.

Wendy Drummond became a focus of the governor’s race after taking responsibility for a $1,000 contribution to Joe Biden during the 2020 election cycle that had been attributed to Gentner Drummond.

The Oklahoma State Capitol also reviewed audio of Franklin’s presentation.

Franklin recounted his former service as an assistant principal at Sand Springs, where he was responsible for administering corporal punishment to students—something he said he was “not really proud of,” while adding that “it didn’t hurt them too bad.”

On one occasion, Franklin said, a parent instructed him to paddle a male student, telling him, “You better make it count,” and to “save some of that A-double-S-S for me when he gets home.”

“Okay,” Franklin recalled responding.

Franklin said the former student approached him very recently at a wedding and told him, “Mr. Franklin, you hit me so hard.”

Franklin said he apologized, telling the former student, “I’m so, so sorry.” According to Franklin, the student responded by acknowledging that he had needed the punishment.

Franklin’s comments emerged as his campaign was responding to renewed scrutiny surrounding a separate 2014 incident at the Guthrie-based Make Promises Happen summer camp. In its account of that incident, the campaign acknowledged that Franklin scratched a camper with special needs behind the ears.

Franklin also informed attendees that he had encouraged current Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Lindel Fields to break a commitment to Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Franklin said he originally encouraged Fields to seek election to the office. Fields, who had been appointed by Stitt, demurred, saying he had made a “promise to the governor” not to seek election to the position.

Franklin responded by telling Fields that “people in politics break promises all the time.”

Franklin hinted at a possible future role for Fields, telling attendees that Fields had made himself available to provide “consulting help” if Franklin could “get through this window.”

Franklin also appeared to have picked up Drummond’s support who told attendees that, while Drummond was not endorsing Franklin, he was supporting “the person in the picture”—an apparent reference to the large banner promoting the presentations of Franklin and Drummond.

The candid nature of the comments takes on added significance because of the closed setting and the circumstances under which the candidates were presented to government employees.

Concerns of politicization surfaced after attendees, upon credentialing into the official conference app, took note of “Meet the Candidate” sessions featuring Drummond and Franklin.

Neither appearance appeared to have been disclosed on the conference’s publicly accessible Summit website. Neither appeared in the organization’s public social media coverage reviewed by the Oklahoma State Capitol, leaving attendees to learn about the controversial presentations only after logging into the official conference phone application.

Once inside the convention space, attendees were directed to the presentations by a large, custom-designed sign prominently featuring the two candidates.

Drummond’s hourlong candidate forum received the prime speaking slot, beginning at 1 p.m. and concluding precisely as the conference-wide general session began.

“The house was like triple packed,” one attendee said. “And I gotta say, he was impressive.”

As the gathering got underway, Oklahoma Association of Career and Technical Education Executive Director Skye McNeil, a former state legislator, acknowledged having been made aware of the concerns. McNeil reportedly directed attendees to avoid emailing her about the political nature of the presentations, noting that the presentations would, in fact, be political.

Oklahoma CareerTech State Director Brent Haken also reportedly met the concerns with sarcasm, saying words to the effect of, “I can’t believe political candidates not being political.”

For many of the publicly employed educators in attendance, participating in the Oklahoma Summit was not optional.

The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education describes Summit participation as “a required conference for all CareerTech teachers each year,” directs educators to register and attend annually, and says certain teachers under contract must participate, though attendance at the specific presentations, once at the summit, was optional.

CareerTech’s administrative rules also condition teacher salary supplements and program assistance for qualifying comprehensive school programs on attendance at the summer conference and other division-required professional development.

Oklahoma City’s Metro Technology Center documents show a set-aside of $94,000 for registration and fee expenses connected to the event. Metro Tech’s expenditure, representing just one of Oklahoma’s 29 CareerTech districts, provides an indication of the potential size, scale and scope of the conference.

Taken together, the audio and circumstances appear to show the candidates using the closed setting and a captive audience of government employees—an audience presumably more receptive to the government-oriented views of Drummond and Franklin than to the traditionally small-government positions of their Republican opponents—to provide unusually candid glimpses into their priorities.

The Oklahoma State Capitol will continue following the circumstances surrounding the closed-access presentations.

If you were present and would share your observations or audiovisual evidence, contact the Oklahoma State Capitol tip line at newstips@oklahomastatecapital.com or call 405-260-9966, ext. 9.