Role: Governor of Oklahoma (since January 2019)
Category: State Governors / Republican Governors

Summary

Kevin Stitt is the Governor of Oklahoma. A self-made businessman and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, he has nonetheless waged an aggressive political battle against tribal nations’ criminal jurisdiction in Oklahoma — opposing the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma that recognized the Creek Nation’s reservation and upheld tribal criminal jurisdiction there. He is a consistent Trump ally who has aligned Oklahoma with federal immigration enforcement priorities and conservative regulatory rollbacks.

Background

Born: December 18, 1972, Monroe, Louisiana
Education: Oklahoma State University (B.S., Accounting)
Career: Founded Gateway Mortgage Group, a mortgage lending company
Cherokee Nation citizenship: Stitt is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation
Elections: Elected 2018; re-elected 2022

Trump Alignment

Stitt has been a consistent Trump ally across both terms. Oklahoma has aligned with Trump’s policy agenda on immigration enforcement, regulatory rollback, and energy production. NPR (February 2026) profiled Stitt’s alignment with Republican orthodoxy on immigration and tribal issues.

Immigration Enforcement

Oklahoma has joined the broader Republican governor coalition implementing state-level immigration enforcement in coordination with the Trump administration. Stitt has supported state legislation strengthening immigration enforcement cooperation.

Tribal Sovereignty Conflict

McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020): The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that a large portion of eastern Oklahoma — the historical Creek Nation reservation — had never been disestablished, meaning tribal and federal courts (not state courts) had criminal jurisdiction over crimes committed by Native Americans on that land. Stitt “strongly disagreed” with the ruling as a threat to state authority.

Continued opposition: Stitt has continued to battle tribal nations over criminal jurisdiction, state-tribal compacts, and revenue sharing — attempting to reclaim state authority over tribal lands and operations that tribal nations assert are within their sovereign jurisdiction.

Conflict of interest: Stitt’s battles against tribal sovereignty are notable given his own Cherokee Nation citizenship — making his opposition to tribal authority a particularly significant political choice.

For Trump Supporters: Questions Worth Considering

Stitt is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who has nonetheless waged an aggressive campaign against tribal criminal jurisdiction in Oklahoma, opposing the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which recognized the Creek Nation’s reservation and upheld tribal criminal jurisdiction there. He has battled tribal nations over state-tribal compacts and revenue sharing. He has aligned Oklahoma with Trump’s immigration enforcement priorities and conservative regulatory agenda.

Here’s a question worth sitting with: Stitt is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation — one of the Five Civilized Tribes with a recognized sovereign status in Oklahoma — who has fought aggressively against tribal criminal jurisdiction and tribal sovereign authority. McGirt v. Oklahoma was a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that found a large portion of eastern Oklahoma remains a Native American reservation where federal and tribal law applies. Stitt “strongly disagreed” with the ruling and has worked to limit its application. A Cherokee Nation citizen arguing against the legal sovereignty of tribal nations in Oklahoma is exercising a legal right — but it also means using the tools of state government to reduce the sovereign authority of the political community he is simultaneously a member of. What principle governs whether a tribal citizen’s opposition to tribal sovereignty is a legitimate political position or a conflict of interest?

A second question: The McGirt ruling affects criminal jurisdiction — meaning serious crimes committed by Native Americans on tribal lands are tried in federal or tribal courts rather than state courts. Stitt has argued this creates public safety problems. Tribal nations have argued they can handle criminal jurisdiction effectively, and that the ruling simply enforces existing treaty obligations the federal government made over a century ago. If you believe the government should honor its legal commitments — including treaties — what does it mean when a state governor works to undermine a Supreme Court ruling that enforces treaty rights his state has been violating for decades?

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Sources

• NPR (Stitt profile): https://www.npr.org/2026/02/26/nx-s1-5719201/kevin-stitt-republican-party-immigration-trump
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Stitt