Kevin Stitt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kevin Stitt
|
|
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg)
Stitt in 2022
|
|
| 28th Governor of Oklahoma | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2019 |
|
| Lieutenant | Matt Pinnell |
| Preceded by | Mary Fallin |
| Chair of the National Governors Association | |
| Assumed office July 26, 2025 |
|
| Preceded by | Jared Polis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Kevin Stitt
December 28, 1972 Milton, Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality | American Cherokee Nation |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Sarah Hazen
(m. 1998) |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | Oklahoma State University, Stillwater (BS) |
John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician. He has been the 28th governor of Oklahoma since 2019. Stitt is a member of the Republican Party.
In 2018, Stitt won the election for governor against the Democratic candidate, Drew Edmondson. He was reelected in 2022, defeating Joy Hofmeister.
Stitt grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, and earned a degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University. Before becoming governor, he started a company called Gateway Mortgage Group. Stitt is the first governor of a U.S. state who is also a citizen of a Native American tribe.
Contents
Early life and Education
John Kevin Stitt was born in Milton, Florida, on December 28, 1972. His parents are Reverend John L. Stitt and Joyce Stitt. His mother is from the Cherokee people and is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
When he was five, his family moved to Skiatook, Oklahoma. He started school in Wayne, Oklahoma. Later, his family moved to Norman, Oklahoma. His father was a pastor there. Kevin Stitt is proud of his Native American heritage. He graduated from Norman High School. He then went to Oklahoma State University and studied accounting.
Business Career
After college, Stitt worked for a company that sold educational books door-to-door. He later moved to Tulsa and, with his wife Sarah, started Gateway Mortgage in 2000. He said he began the company with just "$1,000 and a computer."
Stitt was the CEO of Gateway Mortgage until 2018. After he won the Republican nomination for governor, he stepped down as CEO but remained the company's chairman. Gateway is a successful mortgage company based in Jenks, Oklahoma.
Governor of Oklahoma
.jpg)
Stitt announced he was running for governor in 2017. He campaigned across all 77 counties in Oklahoma. In the 2018 election, he defeated Democrat Drew Edmondson. He won a second term in the 2022 election.
Stitt was sworn into office on January 14, 2019. During his time as governor, he has focused on several key areas.
Government and Agency Reform
In his first year, Stitt asked for more control over major state agencies. The state legislature agreed and passed laws giving him the power to appoint the leaders of several departments. These included the departments of corrections, health care, and transportation.
Before this change, these agencies were run by boards that acted separately from the governor. This reform gave the governor's office more direct influence over how these parts of the state government are run.
Tribal Relations
As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Stitt's relationship with Oklahoma's Native American tribes has been a major topic. A key issue has been the gaming compacts. These are agreements that allow tribes to run casinos in exchange for paying fees to the state.
In 2019, Stitt argued that the compacts, which were set to renew in 2020, needed to be renegotiated to increase the fees paid to the state. Many tribal leaders disagreed, saying the compacts should renew automatically.
The disagreement led to a legal battle. In 2020, a federal judge ruled in favor of the tribes, stating that the compacts did automatically renew. The Oklahoma Supreme Court also ruled that some new compacts Stitt signed were not valid because they allowed types of gaming not yet legal in the state.
Another major court case, McGirt v. Oklahoma, was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020. The court ruled that a large part of eastern Oklahoma remains Native American reservation land for legal purposes. Stitt opposed this decision.
Personal Life
Stitt is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. His great-grandfather was listed on the Dawes Rolls, which was a government list of tribal citizens.
He is married to Sarah Stitt, and they have six children. The family is active in their church in Tulsa.
See also
