Kevin Stitt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kevin Stitt
Stitt in 2022
28th Governor of Oklahoma
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2019
Lieutenant	Matt Pinnell
Preceded by	Mary Fallin
Personal details
Born	John Kevin Stitt (1972-12-28) December 28, 1972 (age 51) Milton, Florida, U.S.
Nationality	American Cherokee Nation
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Sarah Hazen ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	6
Residences	Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S.
Education	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater (BS)

John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2018, defeating Democrat and former state Attorney General Drew Edmondson with 54.3% of the vote. Stitt was reelected to a second term in 2022, defeating Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, a Republican turned Democrat, with 55.4% of the vote. A member of the Cherokee Nation, Stitt is the second Native American governor after former Oklahoma governor Johnston Murray.

Stitt grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in accounting. He is the founder and former chairman and CEO of Gateway Mortgage Group.

Early life

Kevin Stitt was born in Milton, Florida, on December 28, 1972. His family moved to Skiatook, Oklahoma, when he was five. They later moved to Norman, Oklahoma, where his father was the pastor of Riverside Church. He graduated from Norman High School and from Oklahoma State University with a degree in accounting. Stitt helped pay his way through college by selling educational products door-to-door for Southwestern Advantage. He was the first person in the company's 115-year history to achieve the top sales as a first-year salesperson. Stitt is a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Financial services career

Stitt worked in the financial services sector before starting Gateway in 2000. He founded the company and was president and CEO until January 2014, when he became chairman-CEO. Stitt has said he started Gateway in 2000 with "$1,000 and a computer." His first obstacle was to get approved as a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lender, for which the company needed a net worth of $50,000. To achieve that, Stitt put forward the equity in his home. In 2002, Gateway secured its first warehouse line, began obtaining licensing in states other than Oklahoma, and started recruiting loan officers. By 2006, it had over 400 employees.

In August 2018, after winning the Republican nomination, Stitt stepped down as Gateway CEO as the company announced a merger with a state-licensed bank and sought its banking license. Legal Counsel Scott Gesell became CEO in 2020 and Stitt remained chairman. Gateway is a midsize company based in Jenks, Oklahoma. It employs more than 1,500 people and originates mortgages in 42 states.

Governor of Oklahoma

2018 election

In July 2017, Stitt announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in 2018. Facing nine other candidates in the primary election, he ran a statewide campaign with stops in nearly every city and town in all 77 counties. He finished second, defeating, among others, Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb. In the August 28 primary runoff, Stitt defeated Mick Cornett, a former mayor of Oklahoma City. In the November general election, Stitt defeated the Democratic nominee, former Attorney General Drew Edmondson, and Libertarian Chris Powell.

In the GOP runoff, political newcomer Stitt received crucial support from a trio of conservative leaders such as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and former U.S. Senators Rick Santorum and Tom Coburn all of whom endorsed him. In the general election, Stitt was endorsed by former primary rival Mick Cornett, incumbent governor of Oklahoma Mary Fallin, and President Donald Trump. The Stitt campaign promptly rejected Fallin's endorsement with a press release: "We did not seek [Fallin's endorsement], and Kevin Stitt has run on a campaign message that he will do things a lot differently. He is focused on changing the structure of state government and cleaning up the mess we are currently in at the Capitol."

During his campaign, Stitt called himself "the only job creator with proven business experience" running for governor and emphasized his business background. He called on the state to become "top 10 in job growth, top 10 in education and top 10 in infrastructure."

During the general election, the close race drew increased attention from national media and political figures. Vice President Mike Pence campaigned for Stitt.

2022 election

Stitt filed to run for reelection in January 2021. He won the Republican primary in June 2022 and was reelected in November.

Tenure

Stitt (left) attending a White House conference in December 2018, seated next to Governor-elect Brad Little of Idaho

Stitt was inaugurated on January 14, 2019, at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Chief Justice of Oklahoma Noma Gurich swore him and Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell into office. Stitt then gave a 15-minute inaugural address.

Administration personnel

Cabinet positions

Before taking office, Stitt nominated former state Representative Michael Rogers as his Secretary of State and Tulsa Deputy Mayor Michael Junk (a former advisor to U.S. Senators Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn) as his chief of staff.

On December 23, 2019, citing disagreements with Stitt over his handling of negotiations with the state's various Indian tribes about gambling compacts, Lisa Johnson Billy became the first member of the Stitt's cabinet to resign. A member of the Chickasaw Nation and former Republican state representative, Billy viewed Stitt's negotiation position as one of "unnecessary conflict." Stitt tapped his Secretary of State Mike Rogers to assume those duties and temporarily combined the two positions.

Cabinet confirmation process

Sub-Cabinet officials

Government reform

In his first state of the state address, Stitt called for increased appointment power over major state agencies. The legislature granted his request by adopting new laws, giving him direct control over the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs. These agencies were previously under the control of multi-member boards or commissions that acted independently of the governor.

In exchange for additional appointment powers and at legislative leaders' request, Stitt signed into law SB1, which established the Oklahoma Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency in the legislative branch. Under the direction of an oversight committee composed of members of the State Senate and House of Representatives, the office will provide auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the legislature relating to the governor's proposed budget and expenditures by the executive branch.

Healthcare

Stitt opposes Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma. His refusal to expand the program resulted in the filing of an citizens' initiative petition, State Question 802, to enact the expansion into the state constitution notwithstanding Stitt's opposition.

Tribal relations

Under the authority of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, in 2004 Oklahoma voters approved State Question 712, which adopted the Oklahoma State-Tribal Gaming Act. Under the Act, the State of Oklahoma offers each federally recognized Indian tribe the right to conduct commercial gambling within its territory upon accepting the terms of a uniform state-tribal gaming compact. The compact allowed the compacting tribes to conduct gaming in return for "exclusivity fees" to the state treasury averaging 6% of gaming revenues. The compact was scheduled to automatically renew on January 1, 2020.

In a July 2019 op-ed in the Tulsa World followed by a letter to the chiefs of 35 Oklahoma tribes, Stitt called on tribal leaders to renegotiate the terms of the compact before its expiration date. In particular, he called for increasing the exclusivity fees to between 13% and 25%. Stitt's office maintained the compact is not subject to automatic renewal, a claim the tribes rejected, believing it will continue indefinitely unless changes are mutually agreed upon. In either event, the Oklahoma Legislature would presumably have to be involved in any renegotiation, since the state's compact offer is defined and controlled by state statute, and federal law requires that the United States Department of the Interior approve any new compact terms.

In August 2019, the various tribes refused to meet with Stitt to negotiate the amount of the exclusivity fees unless he conceded that the compact would otherwise automatically renew. Stitt had proposed a September 3 date to begin discussions but the tribes rejected it.

At the end of December 2019, the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to end the dispute over the compact. On December 31, Stitt signed an extension to the hunting and fishing license compact with the Choctaw Nation, a previous point of contention.

On July 28, 2020, U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti ruled in the tribes' favor, holding that their compacts with the state automatically renewed for an additional 15-year term on January 1, 2020. A week earlier, on July 21, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the new gaming compacts signed by the state and the Comanche Nation and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe are invalid under state law. The Court ruled that Stitt "exceeded his authorities" in entering into the compacts because they would have allowed gaming that is illegal in Oklahoma, like sports betting.

On July 9, 2020, the United States Supreme Court decided in McGirt v. Oklahoma that half of the land of the state of Oklahoma made up of tribal nations like the Cherokee are officially Native American tribal land jurisdictions. Stitt, a Cherokee Nation citizen, sought to reverse the Supreme Court decision, but in 2021 Oklahoma could not block the federal action to grant the Cherokee Nation along with the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole Nations reservation status.

In May 2023, Stitt vetoed legislation that would have allowed students to wear tribal regalia during their graduation ceremonies.

In June 2023, Senator Greg Treat criticized senators who did not show up for a tribal compact vote to override one of Stitt's vetoes. The next month, he called Stitt "ineffective" and said they were one vote shy of overriding. When the override vote was called again, they got enough votes, but Stitt called it an "illegitimate process". Tribal leaders applauded the override. In July 2020, a video Stitt made had a number of erroneous claims about Native American rights, such as that they do no have to obey the speed limit.

Also, one day after the veto override, Attorney General Gentner Drummond entered a "federal lawsuit on behalf of the state" originally brought by Stitt against the U.S. Department of Interior and four tribal nations. Drummond claimed Stitt was "betraying his duties to the state and wasting taxpayer money on private law firms" and that the compacts Stitt signed "with the Comanche Nation, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Kialegee Tribal Town are invalid because he signed the compacts without first getting legislative approval for expanded types of gaming listed within them, including sports betting."

Sports betting

In January 2023, Stitt announced his support for legalizing sports betting in Oklahoma after Representative Ken Luttrell filed a bill to allow federally recognized tribes in the state to offer sports betting.

Judicial reform and appointments

Stitt signed legislation reorganizing the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. Before the reforms, Supreme Court justices were appointed from nine separate districts representing various collections of counties. Under the legislation, as of 2020 the Court's nine judicial districts were redrawn such that five were made coequal with the state's five congressional districts and the other four are at large with the state as whole. Similarly, the five judicial districts used to appoint judges to the Court of Criminal Appeals were made coequal with the congressional districts. The legislation left the method for appointing appellate judges via the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission unchanged. The reform's ostensible purpose was to increase the pool of applicants to the appellate courts.

The governor of Oklahoma is responsible for making appointments to Oklahoma state courts upon a vacancy. Candidates for appointment are reviewed by the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission, which forwards three names to the governor. The governor appoints one of the three without further confirmation. As of 2020, there are 29 appellate court judges (nine Supreme Court justices, five Court of Criminal Appeals judge, 12 Court of Civil Appeals judges, and three Court of Military Appeals judges) and 156 trial judges (75 district judges, 77 associate district judges, and four Workers Compensation Court judges) subject to the gubernatorial appointment process.

Appellate courts

Trial courts

Personal life

Stitt addresses his remarks during a roundtable discussion with Governors and small business owners on the reopening of America's small businesses.

Stitt is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation through his great-grandfather, Robert Benton Dawson. Dawson was given land in the Skiatook area because of his tribal citizenship, and the land is still in the family, now owned by an uncle of Stitt's. The veracity of his claim to Cherokee ancestry has been questioned due to the Cherokee Nation's failed attempt to remove Robert Benton Dawson from the Dawes Rolls around 1900 for allegedly having bribed a tribal official in order for himself and dozens of his relatives to be included in the tribal roll around 1880; the current Cherokee Nation no longer disputes Stitt's citizenship. Stitt's maternal grandparents were dairy farmers in Skiatook. His paternal grandfather was the head veterinarian at the Oklahoma City Stockyards.

Stitt married Sarah Hazen in 1998 and they have six children. The Stitts are active with the Woodlake Church, an Assemblies of God USA church in Tulsa.

Electoral history

See also

In Spanish: Kevin Stitt para niños

• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States