Oklahoma 1st Congressional District: Tedford leads fundraising, borrowing; Butterfield leads spending

Mark Tedford leads fundraising, self-lending, and cash-on-hand in the short-fuse scramble for the Republican nomination for Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District, as of the end of the Federal pre-primary reporting period on May 27, 2026. Nathan Butterfield has a slight lead in spending, fueled by his million-dollar loan to his campaign.

The starting gun for the three-month sprint was triggered by Congressman Kevin Hern's announcement on March 11 that he would run for the US Senate seat vacated by Markwayne Mullin, newly appointed as U. S. Secretary of Homeland Security. The primary election is on June 16, 2026.

Thursday, June 4, 2026, was the deadline for candidates for Federal office in Oklahoma to submit their pre-primary contributions and expenditures reports to the Federal Election Commission. While the data is still being ingested into the FEC database, the raw submissions are available through a search. This is the first reporting period to give us a good look at the race, as the previous reporting period ended only 20 days after Hern's announcement; several campaigns had yet to launch by then.

As of the pre-primary report Mark Tedford had over a half-million in cash on hand, almost triple his nearest rival, Jackson Lahmeyer. They were the only candidates with cash on hand in six figures.

Tedford and Lahmeyer led net contributions, followed by Kim David and Jed Cochran, also in six-figure territory.

Because of the short time frame for fundraising, heavy spenders are also heavy borrowers. Tedford has loaned $1.1 million to his campaign, while Nathan Butterfield has loaned his campaign $1 million. Butterfield narrowly leads Tedford in spending, nearing the million mark, both spending five times as much as Lahmeyer. Todd Woods is a surprising fourth in spending, helped by the $150,000 he loaned his campaign. Lahmeyer has loaned himself $105,000.

Cochran is the only candidate listing a tribal government, the Osage Nation, as a contributor, with a maximum $3,500 contribution. Charles McCall of Atoka gave Cochran $1,000; this appears to be the former State House speaker and gubernatorial candidate.

Several people named Mazzei are large donors to Lahmeyer, although none of them are Mike Mazzei, Lahmeyer's fellow Trump endorsee.

Corporation Commissioner David's report is notable for the number of donors connected to public utilities and the oil and gas industry, entities which are regulated by the Corporation Commission. CAMP Political is listed as a significant recipient of David's campaign spending.

Among the minor candidates, donations appear to be coming from friends and family and spending is mainly on printing and online ads.

Since the end of the pre-primary reporting period, a few candidates have filed 48-hour notices of additional contributions: Lahmeyer, $16,587.12; Cochran, $14,859.58; Tedford, $11,001; David, $9,082.03; . Butterfield reports lending himself another $170,000.

Eight of the 11 candidates who filed for the First District GOP primary filed a pre-primary FEC report. Dan Rooney, who dropped out of the race, filed paperwork to register his committee but did not file any other reports. Paul Royce and Nancy Dyson have not registered campaign committees with the FEC. The link on the candidate's name will take you directly to the report:

The lone Democrat running, Tulsa school board member John Croisant, has raised $124,067.81 and spent $83,608.19. He won't be on the ballot until November, while the Republican nominee will have not only a primary but also an almost certain runoff before facing Croisant in the general. No one filed for the seat as a Libertarian or independent.