Oklahoma voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would have raised the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2029, marking a rare loss on the issue at the state level.
State Question 832 would have immediately raised the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour, where it has remained for nearly two decades, to $12 an hour starting in 2027. Annual incremental increases of $1.50 an hour will occur over the next two years, resulting in a final hourly rate of $15.
However, citizens who showed up to vote in the state’s primary election, have other ideas. SQ 832 failed by a margin of slightly more than 10 percentage points, with “No” getting about 55% of the vote, and “Yes” getting about 45%. Only three states – Oklahoma, Tulsa, and Cleveland – voted “Yes,” each state based in one of Oklahoma’s two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Rural districts across the country are vocally opposed to the move.
Those who strongly oppose SQ 832 celebrated Tuesday’s results.
“Government doesn’t need to get involved in private business,” said Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, who has previously voiced opposition to the measure. “The creation of this federal question would have put Oklahoma on a path to a higher minimum wage than California. That would have destroyed Oklahoma’s small businesses and our rural economies.”
“Voters chose to protect Oklahoma’s economic growth and one of our greatest competitive advantages: affordability,” said Chad Warmington, president and CEO of the State Chamber of Oklahoma, in a press release. “Oklahomans sent a clear message: we can grow our economy, create opportunity, and keep life affordable without one-size-fits-all mandates that make it harder for businesses to hire and grow.”
Warmington’s sentiment reflects a key consideration driving opposition to SQ 832 — concerns that raising the minimum wage would stifle employment across the country while increasing inflationary pressures. Oklahoma currently has the lowest cost of living in the nation, 14% below the US average. This fact became the focus of anti-832 messages leading up to the election, with talk of a feared increase in the cost of goods and services.
Those who support the measure argue that not much would be gained from starting at $7.25 an hour.
“I want you to think about how much groceries, gas, and all that stuff has gone up [since 2009] … you can’t afford gas to get a job, have a place to live, and live frugally,” Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn told KWTV in an interview confirming SQ 832 earlier this month.
Groups representing the program expressed their dissatisfaction with the results and frustration regarding Stitt’s decision to hold the election during party primaries, when voter turnout historically tends to be lower, than the November general election. Just over 630,000 Oklahomans weighed in on SQ 832, about 26% of the state’s registered voters.
“Last night’s loss was not a reflection of the will of all Oklahoma voters who reject progressive wage increases, but of politicians, and vested interests, choosing election day and voters who want to show up,” Raise the Wage Oklahoma, a group leading the effort told CNBC. “Those politicians and special interests turned on their political machine and spent more than $2 billion in dark money — an unprecedented amount spent against the minimum wage ballot initiative across the country — spreading false information that ended up being too much for our grassroots movement to overcome.”
The union vowed to continue fighting for minimum wage increases after Tuesday night’s loss.
Throughout the past decade, raising the minimum wage has remained a popular progressive policy that, historically, has been at the ballot box. From 1996 to 2022, 25 states have voted on ballot initiatives that raise the minimum wage across the country. They all passed. In recent years, even states that have deviated more from their political leanings, such as Missouri, Nebraska, and Florida, have voted overwhelmingly to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour.
However, this trend has decreased in recent years. In 2024, voters in California and Massachusetts, two of the most left-leaning states in the nation, rejected ballot measures that would have led to an increase in the minimum wage. This rejection was, in large part, due to the same fears about high inflation and the high cost of living that SQ 832’s opponents benefited from.
Could the Oklahoma results be another indication of alcoholism? Oklahoma is one of the most violent states in the nation, with voters who have been reluctant to come forward due to ongoing problems in past voting systems. In 2023, the state overwhelmingly rejected a State Question that would have legalized recreational marijuana, and in 2020, it failed to expand Medicaid.
As of June 2026, no future ballot measures affecting the minimum wage will be voted on. However, the frequency with which they have appeared in recent years, with an average of one provincial minimum wage referendum per year since 2016, suggests the next attempt may not be far off. Whichever state chooses to do so will be nationally prominent, as its decision may be indicative of how workers feel about the surrounding economic situation.
