Cyndi Munson

Cyndi Munson
Official portrait, 2023
Minority Leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office November 16, 2022
Preceded by	Emily Virgin
Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 85th district
Incumbent
Assumed office September 17, 2015
Preceded by	David Dank
Personal details
Born	Cyndi Ann Munson (1985-05-24) May 24, 1985 Monterey, California, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Education	University of Central Oklahoma (BA) University of Nebraska–Lincoln (MS)

Cyndi Ann Munson (born May 24, 1985) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 85th district since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as minority leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives since 2022.

In 2015, Munson won a special election to replace David Dank, securing over 54% of the vote and becoming the first Asian American woman to serve in the Oklahoma State Legislature. Prior to her election, the district, which includes parts of Oklahoma City, had been held by Republicans. She is the Democratic nominee for governor of Oklahoma in the 2026 election.

Early life and education

Munson was born in Monterey, California, and raised in Lawton, Oklahoma. Munson's father was a Vietnam War veteran who raised her as a single parent; her mother was born in Seoul, South Korea. Munson became the first in her family to earn a college degree, having attended the University of Central Oklahoma through Oklahoma's Promise, the state's income-based tuition assistance program, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. She later earned a Master of Science in leadership education from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. As an undergraduate, Munson participated in a program in non-profit and voluntary services at Georgetown University.

Career

Prior to entering politics, Munson worked in the nonprofit sector, including in a community engagement and development role at the OK Messages Project and with the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma. Munson first ran for the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2014, but lost to the incumbent. Munson was elected to the Oklahoma House in 2015, the first Asian American woman to serve in the Oklahoma Legislature. In 2019, Munson was selected to serve on the Oversight Committee for the Legislative Office for Fiscal Transparency. In 2022, Munson succeeded Emily Virgin as minority leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Her legislative record included criminal justice reform efforts, among them a bill to expand financial compensation available to those exonerated after wrongful convictions.

2026 gubernatorial campaign

In April 2025, Munson announced her candidacy for Governor of Oklahoma in the 2026 Oklahoma gubernatorial election, becoming the first Democrat to enter the race. If elected, she would be the first woman of color to serve as Governor of Oklahoma.

Munson's campaign centered on increasing public school funding and teacher pay, cutting taxes for lower- and middle-income residents, expanding access to healthcare, and repealing Oklahoma's near-total abortion ban. On the abortion issue, she pledged to put a repeal of the legislative ban to voters via ballot referendum, arguing that the ban had contributed to maternity care shortages across the state by discouraging OBGYNs from practicing in Oklahoma. She also pledged to reinstate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that had been halted by the Republican-controlled legislature, and to continue backing Oklahoma's Medicaid expansion, which voters approved by ballot measure. She also called for the repeal of the state's parental choice tax credit, which allows parents to claim a tax credit of $5,000 to $7,500 for enrolling children in private schools.

Munson raised over $1.1 million in total campaign contributions ahead of the primary, according to state ethics filings. She did not make personal loans to her campaign, instead drawing on individual donor contributions and direct voter contact. The four leading Republican candidates collectively loaned more than $22 million of their own money to their campaigns.

On June 16, 2026, Munson won the Democratic primary with approximately 74.9% of the vote, advancing to the general election against the winner of the Republican primary runoff between Gentner Drummond and Mike Mazzei. She faces a challenging general election landscape; no Democrat has won the Oklahoma governorship since Brad Henry was reelected in 2006.