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Democratic newcomer scores runoff upset in Oklahoma, vows to impeach Trump if elected
By Alex Miller
Published August 25, 2026
A political newcomer just scored a victory in ruby-red Oklahoma, and, if elected, she would put all her energy into impeaching President Donald Trump.
N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, a nurse who has never run for office before, bested Jim Priest, a lawyer and nonprofit executive, in the runoff race for the Democratic Senate nomination in Oklahoma. Thomas, though a new face, scored the highest percentage of votes in the June primary contest that featured five total candidates vying for the nomination.
It tees up a battle against history in Oklahoma, where voters haven’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in more than three decades.
N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas and supporters (REUTERS)
And Thomas, who lists a host of policy proposals on her campaign website, including beefing up teacher pay, restoring Roe v. Wade, and expanding Obamacare, among other boilerplate Democratic proposals, also wants to accomplish one thing in the early days of her Senate career: impeaching Trump.
During an interview with NPR affiliate KOSU last month, Thomas was asked about the Republican nominee, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., and his "fierce" backing of Trump, and how, if elected, she would approach a working relationship with the president.
"Like I said, I'm kind, not nice. So I will make sure that I work as diligently as I can to make sure that within my first 100 days that we impeach, remove and convict," Thomas said. "They will have to pry that pen out of my cold, dead hands before I go any further with allowing this administration to continue doing what they're doing."
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"So, I mean, hopefully that's a good answer," she continued. "But I am going to remove, impeach, remove and convict. That's it. Like that's all. That's the answer."
First, she’d have to survive Election Night in November against Hern, a tall task given that Trump won Oklahoma by nearly 35 points in 2024.
Though Thomas has pulled off two underdog performances, earning roughly 45% of the vote during her first go-round for the Democratic nomination and then defeating Priest with no political experience, Hern is a different matter.
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Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., talks with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)
He’s amassed an impressive campaign war chest that at one point peaked at nearly $10 million so far this cycle. Thomas, however, has raised just shy of $60,000.
He also boasts the endorsement of Trump and has touted his desire to pass the president’s biggest policy priority, the SAVE America Act.
Hern noted in a statement to Fox News Digital that Oklahomans "love President Trump and the America First Agenda."
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"Socialist Democrats like N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas are wildly out of touch with the values of Oklahomans and the direction they want our country moving toward," Hern said. "President Trump and Republicans are focused on delivering results. N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas and the radical left are focused on partisan politics against a president Oklahomans overwhelmingly elected."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democratic-newcomer-scores-runoff-upset-oklahoma-vows-impeach-trump-elected