In deeply red Oklahoma, minimum wage’s biggest 2026 election cycle fight is about to be decided

Efforts to raise the minimum wage have been a winner across U.S. states in recent years, with popular support from voters across both political parties. Right now, it's a deeply red state that is in the throes of a heated battle over the issue, and it's heading to the polls in less than a month as part of midterm elections primary season. A ballot measure for the mid-June primary in Oklahoma — State Question 832 — would hike the state minimum wage from $7.25, where it's stood since 2009, to $12 per hour in 2027, $13.50 in 2028 and $15 in 2029, with the minimum wage increasing each year after 2029 based on cost-of-living adjustments. Voters will weigh in on the state's minimum wage fight in a special election on June 16 that coincides with the state's primary for federal, state and local offices, including an open U.S. Senate seat and governor due to term limits. The grassroots effort to increase the minimum wage has been a long-running fight within the state. After a series of court battles and political delays, Republican Governor Kevin Stitt announced in 2024 that he was putting it on the June 2026 election ballot. It's been a contentious few years, with some politicians and business groups, including the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business, opposing the initiative. …