PAWHUSKA, Okla. – The unofficial results are in for the Osage Nation’s first primary election and pending certification, the ballot is set for the executive branch’s general election this summer.

Current Osage Congressman Geoffrey StandingBear received more than 60 percent of the votes cast in the principal chief’s race, leaving only 12 ballots to separate the second and third place finishers.

Despite StandingBear’s margin of victory, the office of principal chief will not be decided until the June 2 general election. The tribe’s election code does not include any provisions to bypass a general election if a candidate secures a majority of the votes cast in a primary election, which means the Pawhuska attorney will stay on the campaign trail for the next few months.

 “It’s very humbling and it is a great honor to have the confidence of the Osage voters,” he said. “There’s 40 percent of the voters I still need to reach out to, as I want to represent all Osages.”

Earning 359 of the remaining 706 votes cast, Margo Gray edged past Thomas Boone Jr., for the second spot on the general election ballot. Despite StandingBear receiving more votes than herself and Boone combined, Gray remained optimistic about her chances Monday night.

 “I’ve got some work to do,” she said. “I’ve got to make up around 10 percent and get my message out there. I’m looking forward to a very lively race, because a lot is at stake: the future of the Osage Nation. This race has been watched nationwide because we have a lot of things and areas where Osages need to be catapulted forward.”

Current Principal Chief Scott BigHorse did not run. BigHorse took office earlier this year after John Red Eagle was impeached and prohibited from running for a second term.

In the assistant principal chief’s race, the field shrinks from five to two as Raymond Red Corn of Pawhuska and Skiatook attorney Amanda Proctor will square off in the general election. Red Corn received 707 votes, or 39.5 percent, while Proctor received 503 votes, or 28.10 percent.

Current Assistant Principal Chief Terry Mason Moore finished third with 441 votes, or 24.64 percent.

According to the figures released Monday night by the Osage Nation Election Board, 495 votes were cast in person at the tribe’s lone Election Day polling place, the Wah-Zha-Zhe Cultural Center on Pawhuska’s west side. Two days of early voting at the Osage Nation Election Board office brought in another 226 votes. The remaining 1,077 ballots came from absentee voters.

The numbers will remain unofficial until certified later this week by the Osage Nation Election Board.

Absentee ballot requests for the June 2 general election are due May 5.            

 

Principal Chief unofficial results

Candidate

Total number of votes

Percentage

Geoffrey StandingBear

1,080

60.47

Margo Gray

359

20.10

Thomas Boone

347

19.43

 

Assistant Principal Chief unofficial results

Candidate

Total number of votes

Percentage

Raymond Red Corn

707

39.50

Amanda Proctor

503

28.10

Terry Mason Moore

441

24.64

Randolph Crawford

79

4.41

Jimmy “Osage” Dailey

60

3.35