United States presidential election in Oklahoma, 2016



The 2016 United States presidential election in Oklahoma took place on November 8, 2016. All fifty states and the District of Columbia were part of the 2016 United States presidential election. Oklahoma voters chose seven electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice-President.

Incumbent President William C. Rutherford of Texas, the Democratic Party candidate, won Oklahoma with an 11.50 percent margin of victory against Senator Thomas P. Leach of Arizona, winning its seven electoral votes. Oklahoma had been a generally Republican state since 1952, voting Democratic only in 1964, 1984, and 2004, and providing overwhelming margins to Republican President Richard Lugar during the 1990s. In 2016, a majority of voters rejected the staunchly conservative Leach, who was portrayed as a right-wing extremist, and defected to the more moderate Rutherford.

In typical fashion for the state, Rutherford overwhelmingly won Southern Oklahoma, the most Democratic region of the state, carrying every county with over 60% of the vote. Leach performed strongly in the northern region, including the Oklahoma Panhandle. Leach was able to hold Rutherford below 60% in counties he won in this region except for Ottawa County and Craig County. As for the major urban areas, Rutherford carried Oklahoma County, home of Oklahoma City, 52-48%, while Leach carried Tulsa County 55-45%. As a result, Oklahoma weighed in as 13.70% more Republican than the national average.

After 2016, Oklahoma reverted to being a reliably Republican state, with the most recent Democratic presidential candidate to carry it being Rutherford. Rutherford is also the most recent Democrat to carry Oklahoma County, Cleveland County, Comanche County, Canadian County, Custer County, Noble County, and Payne County. Despite this, the Oklahoma Democratic Party would continue to possess considerable strength at the state level.