Dear John,

Our team wanted to reach out and let you know that we're fighting this.

We were just surprised as you when we heard the news from the State Election Board. We stand by the vote by our delegates at State Convention - Independents have a place in our primaries, and we welcome them with open arms.

That's why we're challenging the State Election Board decision.

Chair Brewer spent yesterday morning in constant contact with the State Election Board regarding this decision, especially surrounding the lack of notice that the State Party received about this narrow Nov. 1 to Nov. 30 window. As a result, we're working with the State Election Board and its officers to resolve this matter.

Here's what OKDEMS Chair Erin Brewer said following the news dropping yesterday morning:

Yesterday, OKDEMS Chair Erin Brewer interviewed with five different news outlets, and Executive Director Lauren Craig and Communications Director Amelia Johnson spoke with eight different online or print media outlets, including the Oklahoman, Tulsa World, Channel 4 (KFOR), and Fox 25 with Wendy Suarez. We are committed to getting the news out there that we support and stand by the decision of our convention body to continue our longstanding policy of including Independent voters in our primaries.

OKDEMS Secretary Kati Cain has been in constant communication with the State Election Board during the late Summer and Fall, and also shed light on this situation:

We wanted to inform you of our next steps, because your opinions, and your input matter. We are actively obtaining legal counsel to advise us on next steps here, especially as we work with the State Election Board, and urge them to reconsider this decision.

Over the last five months, OKDEMS has successfully recruited 100 candidates for office in 2026, and that means something. We have several districts, including statewide and congressional district offices with primaries next June, and we stand by the decision that Independent voters ought to be included.

We aren't slowing down, and want to make clear that this situation will not stop us from continuing the hard work of organizing more counties than have been organized in years, or breaking candidate recruitment records from the last six years.

We are moving full steam ahead, and we appreciate your support, and your dedication to our mission.

You can view our news release here. We will continue to keep you updated during this process.

As always, thank you for supporting our mission.

- The OKDEMS Team

As Oklahoma Democrats, we are working every day to engage, connect, and organize Oklahomans to elect Democrats at every level of government.