Part 2 of 2 — Editor’s Note: This article is a continuation of Part 1, which ran in the Friday, Jan. 2, edition of the Henryetta Free-Lance. -Ask a politician a question, even a simple one, and any office-seeker worth his weight in subsidies and campaign donations will undoubtedly respond with a lengthy answer that might address your query, but will likely also encompass several other points they wish to impart.

After 12 years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives – the last eight as the longest serving Speaker in state history – and one of seven gubernatorial candidates for 2026, Charles McCall knows what he wants for the state’s future, and has no shortage of words.

Among McCall’s platform planks are:

• Zero personal income tax

• Ad valorem taxes frozen at age 62

• Safeguarding rural healthcare

• Improving the state’s education profile

• Shepherding a fiscal surplus for state coffers

• Cultivating a relationship with Native American tribes

• An Oklahoma First agenda — McCall’s Accomplishments

As a lifelong banker and veteran legislator, it’s not surprising that Mc-Call says his strengths include “finance, money, budgets, administration, those are what I’m really strong in,” citing them as “my walk of life.”

“I could give you a list of everything we accomplished in 12 years in the Legislature, but it’s long,” he says.

McCall says his biggest achievements were “turning a terrible economy around from the worst to the very best,” claiming that the economy doubled in its output in six years, and he wants to continue in that vein.

“I believe this time, the electorate is interested in somebody who knows how government works. I think they’re still looking for a private sector guy – they like that. But this time, they don’t want somebody that’s never had any experience,” McCall says.

“And we need to have functional government, but it’s very important to me that we have a government that serves the people. Government is there to serve people, not the other way around. And I’m going to make sure that the state government is not running over the people of the state. Government has an inclination to get in a hurry, and just do things because they can. But the best decisions and the best approaches come by bringing people together, resolving issues and everybody moving down the road, moving forward together,” he says. “It takes more work and it’s a little slower, but it’s better in the long run.”

The former Speaker says he has a good working relationship with current governor Kevin Stitt, although he’s quick to point out that “we don’t see eye to eye on everything, and the tribal matters are probably issues where we vary the most.”

“When it comes to working with others, we’ve got to start working with our Native American tribes. They are a source of strength for us here in Oklahoma,” McCall says, noting that there are 34 other federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma in addition to the Five Civilized Tribes.

“I see that as an opportunity for our state, and I have a good working relationship with the tribes, and I plan to continue to stay in that vein. I think we can do more together than just fighting one another. I know that there’s going to be some things that our constituencies will keep us from being able to agree to, but that’s OK, that’s the way it works. You need to have good working relationships, so when the constituencies do decide they want to see something move, it can get done. I really think that’s something that we’ve missed the last eight years in Oklahoma in the executive branch, and I plan to fix that,” McCall says.

While education rankings are due for an overhaul, he says school funding is in place, which reflects the state’s financial stability.

“The schools are funded, and for the first time in a long time, rural Oklahoma schools have some really robust funding,” McCall says, but cautions that “there’ll have to be continued investments made in education, roads and bridges, healthcare, mental health.”

The candidate says during his first two years as Speaker, “the state was living day to day. Now we have stability. We needed $3.2 billion in reserves to have fully stabilized that four-year down cycle, and we had $5 billion when I left. We’re prepared for the next downturn, so now Oklahoma is in a position where they can start looking longer, we can cast longer-term vision, we can go do some things, pursue some things that we’ve not been able to in the past because we’ve just been focused on day to day or month to month, year to year. But now, we’re in a good position.”

When it comes to rural healthcare, McCall says he will “focus very heavily” on the challenges the industry is facing.

“If we don’t have healthcare facilities or practitioners, our cities and counties can’t grow. It’s just a cornerstone, a foundational element of a city or county with a future. If you’re a critical access hospital, you’re making it. But there’s a lot of communities that don’t – can’t – get them because they’re within 30 miles of another.

“I ran the rural doctor tax credit personally while I was in the Legislature to try to attract more practicing physicians to rural Oklahoma. But this is another place where the tribes can help out so much. They bring their own tranches of resources for healthcare, roads and bridges, and education, and the better working relationship we have with them, the more opportunity there is to utilize the state’s funds and the tribal nation funds and get more done for people,” he believes.

— McCall & Trump

Although McCall admits Washington, D.C., has its own set of problems, he heralds President Trump’s America First focus, and believes an Oklahoma First agenda will work well for the state.

“I have supported Trump all three times he’s run for president. The things I admire about President Trump is that he’s tough, he’s a guy that just wants to get things done and does what he says. Whether you like him or not, everybody knows he perceives what he says he’s going to,” McCall says. “So I support Trump, and I like America First, putting America interests first. As governor of the state, I will have an Oklahoma First agenda, and I will make the interests of Oklahomans the priority. Those interests will supersede anything else. If it’s not good for Oklahoma, I will disagree with it, regardless of who it is.”

Bringing Argentinean beef into the U.S. is a federal decision McCall cannot support.

“In Oklahoma, we are an agriculture-based state, and higher cattle prices are good for our producers. This is the first time in 34 years of me practicing banking in a rural setting that I see my customers that are cattle producers, they have the money from the raising and sale of their product to come in and completely pay for the ranches, pay for the cattle and have money left over, so they can maybe buy more land or reinvest in equipment. That’s the bright spot in the ag sector for Oklahoma, and I hope it continues, and I’m going to support policy in the state that will help our farmers and ranchers, oil and gas, aerospace, tourism and policies that will bring investment to parts of the state that typically don’t receive it,” McCall says.

“So as governor, you’ve got to have an Oklahoma First agenda. And that’s the way I will approach it. Washington’s going to have its own theater; it’s going to have its own issues. But I do support President Trump, and, as governor, I’ll be keeping him informed what’s going on in Oklahoma and what he can do to be helpful to Oklahoma. And he should be very helpful to Oklahoma. This state has supported him all 77 counties in three different presidential cycles, and I plan to have a great working relationship with him.”

The president’s approval rating, which is now negative in 20 states that he won in the 2024 presidential election, doesn’t bother McCall.

Polling numbers cited in a Nov. 25 Newsweek article found that the nation’s biggest shift happened in Oklahoma, where Trump’s approval rating swung from +27 points to minus-7. In addition, a Fox News poll found 76% of voters view the U.S. economy negatively, making Trump less popular on the economy than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

“I think Trump has done a lot of good things, and our polling shows that with the Republican electorate, he’s still 79% favorable.

“Those who are elected, your popularity shifts when you’re in office,” Mc-Call explains, “but you’ve got to work hard every day, you’ve got to listen to people.”

The Republican primary is set for June 16. If a runoff is needed – if none of the six GOP gubernatorial candidates receives more than 50% of the vote in the primary – that election will be in August. The General Election is Nov. 3, when the Republican nominee will face House minority leader Cyndi Munson, currently the only Democrat seeking the state’s highest office.