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Oklahoma\u2019s primary elections on Tuesday put open races for U.S. Senate and governor on the ballot in the deeply conservative state where President Donald Trump\u2019s status as party kingmaker faces another test ahead of November\u2019s midterms<\/a>. <\/p>\n In the Senate race, Trump\u2019s early backing<\/a> of Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern for the seat previously held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin<\/a> kept other potential big challengers at bay in Oklahoma, which hasn\u2019t elected a Democratic senator since 1990. <\/p>\n A bigger test of Trump\u2019s influence \u2014 which has usually proved potent in Republican primaries this year \u2014 may come in a crowded race to succeed outgoing Gov. Kevin Stitt<\/a>. <\/p>\n Trump endorsed former state Sen. Mike Mazzei last month, wading late into a primary that includes several prominent Oklahoma Republicans. They include Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall and Chip Keating, the state\u2019s former public safety director.<\/p>\n It has raised the likelihood of an August runoff if no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote.<\/p>\n In a solidly Republican state, the open races for two of Oklahoma\u2019s biggest offices set off a political scramble. <\/p>\n Mullin left the Senate to join Trump\u2019s cabinet and replace Kristi Noem<\/a>, whom the president fired in March over mounting criticism over her leadership at the Department of Homeland Security. Republican Alan Armstrong<\/a>, an energy executive, is filling the Oklahoma Senate seat for now, but state law prohibits him from seeking a full term as an interim appointee. <\/p>\n Stitt, who been governor since 2019, cannot run again because of term limits \u2014 and Trump has seemed eager for him to go. <\/p>\n As head of the National Governors Association, Stitt drew Trump\u2019s ire<\/a> earlier this year over a dispute over invitations to White House events at the group\u2019s annual meeting. The fallout led to Trump attacking Stitt on social media as a \u201cRINO,\u201d meaning Republican in Name Only.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n