Who is running for Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, District 2, Office 1, Retention: Judge Deborah B. Barnes in 2026?

Judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, District 2, Office 1

Deborah B. Barnes has been a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals since Governor Brad Henry appointed her in 2008³. Before that she was a civil lawyer and a corporate attorney and executive at Transok and ONEOK in Tulsa³. This is a nonpartisan retention question: voters answer yes or no on keeping the judge, and no party is listed on the ballot⁵.

• Judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, District 2, Office 1, since 2008; elected chief judge for 2014³
• Partner at Crutchmer, Browers, and Barnes from 2002; vice president, secretary and associate general counsel of ONEOK Inc., 1997 to 2001; staff attorney and later vice president for human resources and administration at Transok, from 1991³
• Private practice at Stack and Barnes in Oklahoma City, 1989 to 1991; staff attorney for Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Ralph Hodges; began her career at Crowe and Dunlevy³
• Past chair of the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners; former adjunct professor of oil and gas law at the University of Tulsa³
• JD with distinction, Oklahoma City University School of Law, 1983, first in her class; BA in journalism, University of Oklahoma, 1976³
• Appointed to the Court of Civil Appeals by Governor Brad Henry in 2008³ and sworn in on July 9, 2008⁴. Appellate judges are appointed by the governor from three names sent by the Judicial Nominating Commission⁵. Voters retained her in 2010, 2014 and 2020³. Her current term ends January 11, 2027, so the 2026 vote decides whether she serves a new six-year term².