We’d like to wish a fond—and perhaps temporary—farewell to Dan Isett, the squanchy Minister of Misinformation and Propaganda for Ryan Walters’s Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Yesterday afternoon, during the rush to cover Stitt’s upheaval of the State Board of Education, KFOR’s Spencer Humphrey reported on social media that Dan was no longer with the department.
That’s a shame.
It’s been about 18 months since Dan waddled up from Texas onto the Oklahoma political scene, heroically replacing Ryan’s former communications chief who didn’t understand how email worked. And boy, did he deliver.
From helping Ryan craft his signature SUV speeches to fending off the pesky legitimate media, he made sure to always churn out top-notch, MAGA-fueled “StIcK iT tO tHe LiBs” content for Oklahoma’s social media sphere.
In fact, I think he’s the only state employee this century to get the courtroom sketch artist treatment.
The news of Dan’s departure was celebrated by Ryan’s critics. Apparently, they forgot that Dan will be easily replaced by either…
A) Some young, underpaid, preferably attractive upstart who will likely last less than six months, or
B) Another once-ambitious political flack from Texas who is content collecting state benefits while holding Ryan Langston-Walters’s merkin, hoping it will take him somewhere.
Obviously, a lot of people are wondering: why did Dan leave the agency? Did Dan quit in protest over Ryan’s new wavy haircut? Did Dan and Matt Langston have a falling out during a romantic hot air balloon ride? Did Ryan discover an autographed copy of Gender Queer in Dan's bedside table?
Well, I asked around the Ogle Mole Network to see what I could find out. I didn’t get much, but one Mole told me they saw Dan walking around the halls of government last week, giving cordial and proper “goodbyes” to his cohorts and colleagues—so apparently, his departure was planned.
The Mole also added: “I bet he’s going to go work on the campaign.”
Obviously, the Mole was talking about the much-speculated entry of Ryan Walters into the 2026 Oklahoma governor’s race.
Just about everyone in the Oklahoma political scene thinks Walters is going to run. And if he does, it would make sense for him to have a trusted and loyal lieutenant, shit-stirrer, and coattail rider to help lead and manage it.
But, once again, that’s just a bet. At this point, I’m basically just Dean Blevins’ing things a bit.
Who knows? Maybe Dan finally realized what a disaster Ryan Walters truly is and hit the eject button before everything self-destructed. But if Ryan announces his run for governor here in a month or two—and you see a portly fellow fending off both legitimate and illegitimate press with a cattle rod—then I guess we’ll know the bet was a winner.
Until then, stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
