As 3 compete for district judge in Kay County and Noble County, candidate sues over election law
With one candidate filing a federal lawsuit to challenge an Oklahoma law barring judicial candidates from making their political affiliation publicly known, the normally quiet race to be the district judge of Kay and Noble counties could lead to a precedent-establishing decision altering future elections for the bench.
Candidate Scott Loftis, represented by attorneys with the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma against members of the state Council on Judicial Complaints, an executive branch agency that investigates allegations of misconduct against judges.
Loftis made three different First Amendment claims against state law:
- the Oklahoma statute barring judicial candidates from identifying with a political party is an unconstitutional content-based restriction on political speech;
- the Oklahoma Judicial Code of Conduct Rule 4.1(A)(12)-(13) is an unconstitutional content-based restriction on political speech; and
- two Oklahoma Judicial Ethics Advisory Panel opinions are unconstitutional content-based restrictions on political speech.
https://nondoc.com/2026/05/31/in-kay-county-noble-county-district-judge-race-candidate-sues-over-judicial-election-law/