The alliance between Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt and the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters appears to be damaged beyond repair.
Walters is rumored to be after Stitt's job. In 2026 when his current term is up, Stitt will be unable to run for reelection due to the state's term limits and Walters has been hinting at a gubernatorial run.
Back in 2020, Stitt appointed Walters as his Secretary of Education. In 2022, Walters left that appointment after being elected to his current position.
Walters, a very vocal Christian nationalist, was a controversial choice.
Rather than addressing Oklahoma's ranking as 50th in the United States for education with initiatives to address core skills like reading, writing, mathematics, history, and science, Walters mandated his version of the Christian Bible and the Ten Commandments be added to the curriculum for all public school students in grades 5-12.
Walters also targeted LGBTQ+ students and staff and refused to acknowledge transgender and nonbinary people exist. He called teachers "terrorists" and claimed school libraries were full of pornography as he pushed book bans.
Now, after being caught with pornography playing on his office TV during a state Board of Education meeting, Walters is accusing Stitt of conspiring against him. Even if it wasn't the first time allegations of inappropriate distribution of pornography were levied against Walters.
On Tuesday, Walters spoke in front of the press for over eight minutes, weaving a tale of a conspiracy led by Governor Stitt to damage his reputation.
Walters told the gathered press:
"What we've seen transpire over the last five days is the nastiest, biggest lie ever lodged at an official in Oklahoma."
"These board members have a lot to answer for, and so does the governor of the state of Oklahoma."
"I cannot begin to describe the disgusting nature of the lies leveled against me by board members, by the media and by the teachers union. This has been a coordinated attack to crucify my character and to try to stop the will of Oklahomans and their vision for education in the state of Oklahoma."
You can watch a clip of his press conference here:
Walters added:
"We will continue to ensure that these board members are held accountable. They should resign immediately in disgrace for the lies that they’ve told, and we should get back to work for the people of Oklahoma…."
"I haven’t seen anything as scandalous of a lie as what we’ve seen pushed out about me and my character over the last five days.
In a separate video Walters posted to his X account, he said:
"These are lies by board members, by a corrupt news media, and perpetuated by the teachers union to try and stop the will of Oklahoma voters, and the Oklahoma parents."
"What we are going to continue to do is move this education reform for the families of Oklahoma. These board members should resign immediately in disgrace over the lies that they have pushed about me to try to destroy my character."
Oklahoma Board of Education members Becky Carson and Ryan Deatherage—the members who spoke up about what they were seeing on the TV during the meeting, released a joint statement Tuesday.
They wrote:
"No board member has accused Superintendent Walters of anything, we only brought attention to inappropriate content on a TV—content that would cause a teacher in our state to lose their license."
"As the investigation continues, we urge Superintendent Walters to cooperate with law enforcement and refrain from smearing the names, characters and reputations of board members."
Walters claimed the investigation requested by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) and conducted by the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) was completed and his name was cleared.
He stated:
"We have had our name cleared by OMES and the sheriff's office—there is nothing scandalous that I was a part of whatsoever."
Walters straight-up lie was exposed by OCSO spokesperson Aaron Brilbeck, who told News 4:
"That simply isn’t the case. Our investigation is still ongoing. In fact, I would categorize it as being in its infancy.
"This is going to be a very thorough investigation. And once the investigation is complete, we’re going to be very transparent with our findings."
Walters also claimed he had "two independent groups come in and prove there was no wrongdoing going on" but he failed to identify them or provide any proof a review took place or that the two groups even existed.
The reaction to his lie-filled press conference from his constituents was brutal—especially their memes.
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In the Oklahoma subReddit, one Okie summed up the mess, writing:
"The press conference was utter insanity. He has basically invented a massive conspiracy which the Governor, the teacher's unions and the Board are all in on in effort to bring him down and halt his crusade against wokism and leftists."
"A crusade he seems to think is actually his job instead of raising the state's nation-worst test scores and reducing absenteeism."
"That paints a picture of somebody who is completely unhinged and unaccountable."
They added:
"He also indicated that the voters are coming for all these people 'very soon', which I'm pretty sure is a threat against elected officials and law enforcement. I don't care for this Governor, but I find it hard to believe he's just not going to respond in the face of these attacks."
"It was so embarrassing, I doubt even Trump would want anything to do with him. The legislature is going to have to remove him like they did with [Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services commissioner] Allie Friesen."
In May of this year, Friesen was removed by the passage of Oklahoma Senate Concurrent Resolution 12. But Stitt appointed Friesen to her post in January 2024 while Ryan Walters was elected to his post.
Walters' removal would likely require impeachment and conviction by both houses of the Oklahoma legislature.
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