By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of profiles on four of Republican candidates seeking the party’s nomination for governor. Oklahoma Voice interviewed the four candidates who have the highest fundraising totals. Profiles will run in alphabetical order.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Charles McCall believes his lengthy leadership as House speaker during both economic hardships and prosperity make him the best candidate for governor.
The banker and former Atoka mayor and city council member said the state’s best years are ahead.
McCall is among nine Republicans, three Democrats and three independents vying to replace Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is serving his final year in office.
McCall served 12 years in the House, including eight as leader of the lower chamber, the longest tenure of a speaker.
“I believe you’ve got to have proven leaders, proven leadership that remembers what the bad years looked like, got us through that, and got us to the best times in order to really reach our full potential,” said McCall, 56.
While leading the House, he worked to reduce the state’s income tax, eliminate the 4.5% state-level sales tax on groceries and supported creating an education parental choice tax credit.
McCall backs eliminating the state income tax and putting a 3-year moratorium on the growth of property taxes. He wants to eliminate property taxes for those 62 years and older.
But he does not want to eliminate property taxes for everyone else.
While state government does not benefit from them, property taxes are a primary revenue source for local schools, CareerTechs, counties and some municipal governments.
“Anybody who says they want to repeal ad valorem is saying they want to defund county law enforcement,” McCall said.
But he said he would eventually like to find a way to replace the revenue so property taxes could be fully repealed.
“We do need to give everybody a breather on that and at least freeze it,” McCall said.
He said people want great schools, good roads and bridges, healthcare and public safety.
All of those require a strong economy, McCall said.
“That’s why the tax structure of our state is so important,” McCall said.
He blames the state’s low ranking in educational performance on the executive branch, adding that the Legislature has provided the necessary funding.
Oklahoma continues to rank last in the region in what is spends per-pupil, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. It spends about $12,519, considerably less than the $14,975 regional average, Oklahoma Watch reported.
But McCall believes educational outcomes, such as test scores, can be improved utilizing existing funding.
“And we can do it, but they’ve got to bring down the political theater,” McCall said. “The school districts have to get the political activism out and just start it. Just start teaching the fundamentals and stay focussed on it.”
He supports the parental choice tax credit program, which allows parents to obtain a tax credit ranging from $5,000 to $7,500 per student if they send their children to a private school.
He doesn’t believe the state should cap the amount available. Stitt recently signed legislation to raise the cap from $250 million to $275 million.
McCall is campaigning in part on hot-button social issues, such as banning transgender care for minors and prohibiting the Islamic faith, saying he is representing the values of Oklahomans and Christians.
One of his campaign commercials features him slicing a banana while stating his opposition to sex changes for minors, a law that passed in 2023.
“Christian values are important to people,” McCall said. “That’s my faith. Those are my values…I’m going to have compassion for others, but I’m going to speak the truth.”
He said that while there are good people who are Muslim, Islam is “not compatible” with the U.S. Constitution or Oklahoma.
As speaker, he refused to allow Islamic groups to use the House chamber for gatherings.
McCall also said he’d use his own aircraft, not the state’s private jet, to stay connected to constituents.
Oklahoma’s fiscal year 2027 budget contains $3 million to buy a state plane for the governor’s use.
“I would not use it for personal use at all,” McCall said. “I would not fly people around on it at all. I wouldn’t use it to vacation.”
Stitt’s administration included highly publicized disagreements with the state’s tribes, something McCall vowed to fix.
“I’m going to hit the reset button,” McCall said.
He said the state and tribes can be partners to move Oklahoma forward, but he will not be a rubber stamp for them.
“I’m going to ask to have sit down and private meetings with the heads of the tribal nations frequently,” McCall said.
McCall holds a bachelor’s in business from the University of Oklahoma, where he met his wife, Stephanie. They have two grown sons.
