The full interview transcript with Oklahoma Republican Governor Candidate Mike Mazzei is below, lightly edited for conciseness and clarity.
Angel Ford: It's the day before Election Day. So, can you take me through how you feel?
Mike Mazzei: Oh, we're just so excited that Election Day is going to be here tomorrow. It's been a great journey. I've so enjoyed sharing with the people of Oklahoma my plan to make life more affordable and create great high paying jobs by making Oklahoma a no income tax state and abolishing property taxes for seniors and veterans and even cutting the cost of home and car insurance.
Ford: So, I'm always interested in speaking to candidates about their before and after. So how do you see things differently now compared to when you first began your campaign?
Mazzei: Well, this is my fourth campaign, Angel. So, campaigns are always different, but always kind of similar. And the part that is similar is the hard work and being consistent to communicate to the voters a plan that will help make their lives better and will create more opportunity and prosperity for their kids and their grandkids. So, one example is, when I first started this race, I had the details worked out of how to make Oklahoma no income tax state, but I didn't really have the details worked out on how to abolish property taxes for seniors and veterans because there were lots of different ideas. But as I connected with seniors over or all across the state of Oklahoma and listen to how terrified they felt about losing their homes after four decades or three or four decades of working so hard to own their homes. That's when I really dove into the details of how to make a change in property taxes for seniors and veterans but still have responsible growth in county tax collection. So that's an example of something that's different today than it was when we started back in April of 2025.
Ford: I've talked to a great many different candidates. And before I do that, I go around and I talk to people in Tulsa and I talk to people in Muskogee County and I ask them, 'What are questions that you want to ask the candidates that you are not able to in person?' They may be working and not have time to go to one of the rallies or the parties or what have you. And one of the biggest questions that came up - two questions actually - the first one is your ads have touted the complete elimination of state income tax and they're not quite sure how you would do that and how you would also balance the income tax revenues with the state budget. Would you be able to give us a how-to so that people understand how you mean to do that?
Mazzei: That's one of my favorite questions. And I was just in Muskogee on Friday at that wonderful Mexican restaurant, Uncle Julio's. And so yeah, I love being able to answer questions for people who can't get to some of the events. So, the reason we have to become a no income tax state is because we're losing big companies like Devon Energy to the no income tax state of Texas. And we're missing out on the growth of salaries and wages that they're seeing in the state of Tennessee because they've had 58% more economic growth and more wage growth than we have in Oklahoma over a 10-year period. And that Angel is how you really grow faster than the rate of inflation, so people can have a better opportunity to say buy a house. Now to get to the details, next year I will propose lowering the state income tax rate from 4.5% to 3% as step one in my three-part plan because there's over $2 billion worth of credits, deductions, exemptions and rebates that we just don't need that the no income tax state of Tennessee doesn't have. So, you get rid of those, and you lower the tax rate, and it's what we call a revenue neutral strategy to lower the tax rate. And that's the responsible way to become a no income tax state is to clean up the tax code and create more freedom for people in terms of working hard instead of punishing people's hard work through an income tax. And steps two and steps three are additional strategies to get us to 0, but to do it in a responsible revenue fashion. And what will happen is we'll get actual growth on tax collections. When I first got into the state Senate, the income tax rate was 6.75% and total state tax collections were around 6.5 billion. As chairman of the finance committee, I did clean up a lot of the tax code. Today, the income tax rate is 4.5% and total state tax collections are around $17 billion.
Ford: So, the second question is regarding the campaign finances and that's obviously a very hot topic. There's $16.5 million I believe in your campaign that you've put in - $13 million of it you've loaned yourself. Now, people are worried about how you intend to pay that back.
I understand that campaign finance laws allow you to keep your committee open after tomorrow's election to raise money through individual voters and PACs. People want to know if you are able to assure them that any decision you make on their behalf is not influenced or compromised from those post-election donations as you recoup those millions of dollars?
Mazzei: Angel, that is such a bizarre question. And here's why -- I and my wife have always thought it's a great thing to invest in the lives of others. That's why our business has been successful.
I was my largest donor when I ran three times for the Oklahoma State Senate. And that always gave me the freedom actually to be consistent with my conservative principles, to try my best to be faithful to the principles of the Bible. And the idea that you invest money in a political campaign that will be a great return on investment is kind of how we see this. We've personally invested our own money because we believe when we make the state a no income tax state and we get rid of property taxes for seniors and veterans, and we help thousands and thousands of kids have better reading skills, better writing skills, better math skills, The return on investment is going to be billions and billions of dollars of economic impact.
And again, being my largest donor means I need to be true to myself, not to anybody else or the special interest crowds or the politically well-connected folks.
Ford: So, with Election Day tomorrow, what is your final message to undecided voters and what separates your vision for Oklahoma's economy from your opponents?
Mazzei: Well, the big difference between my opponent representative Cyndi Munson and myself is, you know, as a Republican, financial planner, or a small business owner, I've built a plan to make life more affordable and help grow great jobs by changing the tax code, cutting the cost of car insurance, launching a massive statewide literacy program, and getting 7,500 students off the waiting lists of our career techs because they want to get into a skilled trade. My opponent believes in higher taxes, more government spending without accountability, without addressing waste, fraud, and abuse. She voted against the legislative ban for boys to play in girls sports. She's publicly advocated support for the Council of American Islamic Relations and has said that institution should be welcomed into our public schools. So Representative Munson believes in most of the ideology, if not all, of the radical left ideology of the Democrat Socialists of America, which is just not the values that the people of Oklahoma have. And what's really important to me when we talk about all these plans is I just want everyone in Oklahoma to have a great job and be able to afford a home and I want seniors to retire with dignity and be able to stay in that home. I want these students of ours to finish school with great reading and writing skills. And I want to secure the land of Oklahoma from the people of Oklahoma and chase out this terrible Chinese money and Mexican cartels. And I believe when we all do that and unite around a solid plan, we can usher in a golden age of growth and opportunity and prosperity for our kids and our grandkids.
Oklahoma Democratic Governor Candidate Cyndi Munson's interview is here.
