Following the extremely close results of the August 27th mayoral election, Brent VanNorman’s campaign team announced late Thursday plans to request a recount. In the historic and razor-thin race, Brent VanNorman finished just a few hundred votes behind Monroe Nichols and Karen Keith, who advanced to a runoff. In total votes, Monroe Nichols received 18,729, Karen Keith 18,457 and Brent VanNorman 18,019, of the 56,585 vote total reported to the State Election Board here.
Despite the close overall numbers, Brent VanNorman won the most precincts of the top three finishers—69 precincts, compared to Monroe Nichols’ 49 and Karen Keith’s 30. Given this strong showing and the unprecedented closeness of the results, there has been a strong groundswell of support from Tulsans encouraging the campaign to ask for a manual recount.
Brent VanNorman emphasized the importance of ensuring that every vote is accurately counted, stating, “Given the incredibly narrow margin and the high stakes for Tulsa’s future, we believe a recount is justified and necessary. This decision isn’t about challenging the process but about reinforcing confidence in it. We trust in the process, and we want to verify the results to ensure full confidence in this election.”
The recount process is expected to move forward quickly. The campaign is confident that a careful review of the ballots will clarify this tightly contested race.