OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – Oklahoma House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson is running for governor.
Munson, D–Oklahoma City, announced her bid for the Democratic nomination on the grounds of the State Capitol on Tuesday.
“I started working in the nonprofit sector because I wanted to help people. It’s also what inspired me to run for office over a decade ago. To be a voice for people who needed it most,” Munson said.
Munson was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2015, becoming the first Asian-American woman elected to the Oklahoma Legislature. Her Democratic colleagues elected her House Democratic Caucus Chair in December 2018.
She attributed her passion for public service to her upbringing in Lawton, Okla., where she was raised by a single father who served in the U.S. Army.
“He had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. We moved 10 times growing up, chasing cheaper rent. Even though we didn’t have a lot, my sister and I had a loving dad who was always there on the front row, cheering us on,” Munson said.
Munson said her teachers and counselors were also instrumental in supporting the individual she was becoming.
She said she was able to attend the University of Central Oklahoma thanks to financial support from an Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship.
“I became the first in my family to graduate from college,” she said. “I’m here today because Oklahoma and its leaders invested in me. And I want Oklahoma to be a state that continues to invest in its people and help all those other little Cyndis out there who are working toward their dreams.”
Munson said she’s not a typical gubernatorial candidate.
“I work for a living. I pay my student loans. I rent my house. And I know what it is like to live within a budget. I feel the pressure of the rising costs of our daily existence,” she said. “I don’t come from a wealthy family.”
She said she has a proven track record of working with her Republican colleagues in the legislature.
“I’m not beholden to any political party. I’m not an extremist,” she said. “I won’t pander to Washington, D.C. politicians who only want to continue deepening our political divide.”
Munson pledged to fight for everyday Oklahomans as governor, give more funding to schools, provide higher pay to teachers and their support staff and give tax relief to working families and members of the middle class.
“I led the bipartisan effort to repeal the state’s sales tax on groceries, and I will continue to find ways to help everyday people,” she said.
She said she will pursue common sense solutions to the state’s challenges.
“I will put an end to the extremist rhetoric that keeps the government from doing its job,” she said.
Munson said she will spend the next year and a half traveling the state, meeting Oklahomans and listening to their thoughts and concerns.
“I want to know what they love about Oklahoma and what they think we can do better,” she said. “Because that is what this campaign is about, the people of this great state.”
Munson is a member of several legislative committees – Appropriations and Budget, A&B Public Safety, General Government, Government Oversight, Health and Human Services Oversight and Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget – and said that she is passionate about criminal justice reform and education.
She sat down with Oklahoma Business Voice in February for a one-on-one interview about her top priorities for the 2025 legislative session and a wide range of important concerns, including sales tax credit relief, workforce development, education, childcare, criminal justice reform, tax cuts and bipartisanship.
