State Superintendent Hofmeister To Announce Gubernatorial Run

OKLAHOMA CITY –

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is expected to announce her candidacy for governor Thursday morning.

It is believed Hofmeister will run as a Democrat although she has been a lifelong Republican.

Hofmeister, from Tulsa, was sworn in as Oklahoma’s 14th State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2015. She was re-elected in 2018 and continues to serve out that four-year term.

She was appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin to serve on the Oklahoma State Board of Education in 2012, before her run for superintendent of public instruction.

Hofmeister is a former public school teacher and business owner from Tulsa. She served on the Oklahoma State Board of Education from 2012-2013.

Hofmeister has been a vocal critic of Governor Stitt. Tensions between the two started over the summer after the passage of Senate Bill 658, which banned schools from enacting mask mandates. Things boiled over in early September after Governor Stitt announced an audit into the State Department of Education. She called the governor’s audit an “attack on public education” and said it couldn’t have come at a worse time for students, families, and teachers.