State Superintendent Candidates Respond To Recent Poll Results

In less than two months Oklahomans will head to the polls to cast their vote in the general election. 

A recent News 9/News On 6 poll gave us an inside look at who voters are leaning towards. 

That poll, completed mostly by Republican voters, had Democratic Candidate Jena Nelson ahead of Ryan Walters by 5%. 

News 9 heard from both candidates about their reaction to the numbers. 

“Republicans make up 57% of the electorate now in Oklahoma,” said Bill Shapard, a Pollster with SoonerPoll. 

Four hundred and two likely voters were randomly selected and asked who they would vote for in the race for State Superintendent.  

“Walters has much higher name identification than nelson who has never run for office before,” said Shapard. 

Out of that sample size, 48.1% said if the election was held now, they would vote for Democratic candidate Jena Nelson, 43.1% favoring Ryan Walters while 8.8% are undecided. 

“I feel very cautiously optimistic, right now I just keep reminding everyone that education is not a Democrat or Republican issue. It is an issue that affects everyone of us and I am just very humbled to have the opportunity to try and fight for the kids of Oklahoma,” said Jena Nelson, a Candidate For State Superintendent (D). 

The spokesperson for Ryan Walters said in a statement, “The Walters campaign is focused on getting its message out and connecting with voters. The only poll that matters is Election Day in November.”   

“What we are seeing is that as many as 17% of Republicans are voting for Nelson over Walters,” said Shapard. 

“I’m hoping what it means is that we can have some good old common-sense conversations about education and that we want to move it in a forward direction,” said Nelson. 

The poll also revealed that Nelson is doing better among voters under the age of 54 who are more likely to be parents. 

While Walter is polling better among voters 55 and up. 

“We need to point out that Democrats typically do better in education issues compared to Republicans, this is more of a historical view,” said Shapard.