(Editor's Note: This article is part of a series highlighting five reasons to vote for each of the major Republican candidates for governor. Please note the word “reasons” is being used very loosely here.)
Out of all the candidates running for governor, Gentner Drummond is the one I find most intriguing.
On one hand, he sounds, acts and screams like every other Republican candidate currently polluting our TV screens. Trump this. Trump that. My opponent loves trans kids, etc. But on the other hand, he does seem to have a legitimate independent streak.
For example, as attorney general, he hasn’t been afraid to say “fuck it” and take on powerful special interests like school choice organizations, insurance companies and the Chinese mafia. Sure, that doesn’t make him a moderate, a hero or even someone I’d want to put in charge of things, but it does make him a little more interesting than the other rich guys trying to out-Trump each other on TV.
Anyway, I guess that’s one very general reason to vote for him. Here are five more.
1. You enjoy Top Gun...
Gentner Drummond is a former fighter pilot, so if you were a fan of Top Gun, you’d probably like him.
On that note, if I had one criticism of Gentner’s campaign, it’s that they haven’t leaned into the fighter pilot thing hard enough. That’s a strange thing to say with ads like the one above floating around, but I was hoping he’d have Top Gun quotes as slogans – “Gentner Drummond: You Can Be His Wingman Anytime” – and caravan around the state in an F-15.
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2. You love beef burgers...
Gentner marches to his own beat, or beef, so instead of calling a hamburger what it is, a hamburger, he refers to them as “beef burgers.”
At least he did during his big campaign announcement:
Listen, I know imitation meat exists, salmon burgers are a thing, and somewhere downtown there’s probably a $17 quinoa patty calling itself a burger, but do we really need to clarify that a regular hamburger is made of beef?
I’m honestly surprised his opponents haven’t seized on this. Republicans hate it when people change the names of things. They’ve spent the past 20 years fighting the War on Christmas and screaming about pronouns, but Gentner Drummond is out here renaming hamburgers and everyone just lets it slide?
Personally, I don’t know if “beef burger” makes Gentner more relatable or less relatable, but it does make me want to hear him order at Braum’s.
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3. You’re a bully cop…
Remember back in December 2024 when Gentner assumed the role of judge, jury and executioner and cleared Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Joseph Gibson, the cop who slammed 71-year-old Lich Vu to the ground, breaking his neck, causing a brain bleed and fracturing his eye socket?
Yeah, I sure do!
Vu, a fragile elderly Vietnamese man, later died in October 2025, nearly a year after the incident. His family’s attorney said the encounter hastened his death.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive Gentner for letting Gibson off the hook without a trial, but if you’re a bully cop who likes to flex your muscle, pick on feeble people smaller than you, and trust the system to protect you after the fact, Gentner would be a wise choice for governor.
It will be nice knowing he’s there in the background to let you off the hook.
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4. You’re a fan of the separation of church and state...
Although I don’t agree with his twisted logic that we can’t have prayer in schools because then Muslims will get to pray, the guy does seem to be a pretty ardent protector of the separation of church and state.
Granted, he’s not doing it for the same reasons I would. I prefer the whole “government shouldn’t sponsor religion” thing, while Gentner seems more motivated by “careful what you wish for, Christians.” But hey, sometimes the right thing happens for the dumbest possible reason.
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5. You once donated to Joe Biden...
Even if you later took back the donation and had to publicly apologize for it in a dramatic political hostage video, if you once supported Sleepy Joe, Gentner’s probably the least bad of the four Republicans running.
That probably means he has no chance of winning, but at least you’ll know Wendy Drummond feels your pain.
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