Mary Newt Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician and real estate broker who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district from 2007 to 2011, and as lieutenant governor from 1995 to 2007. As of 2026, Fallin remains the only woman to have served as governor of Oklahoma.
Beginning a career in politics, Fallin was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1990. She served two terms in the Oklahoma House, representing a district in Oklahoma City, from 1990 to 1995. In 1994, Fallin was elected to serve as the 14th lieutenant governor of Oklahoma; being elected to a total of three terms, she served under two different governors from 1995 to 2007. After seven-term Republican incumbent Ernest Istook announced that he would retire from his seat to run for governor, Fallin declared her candidacy for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district, where she was elected to two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011.
Fallin ran for Governor of Oklahoma in 2010. She defeated three other opponents with 54% of the vote in the Republican primary, and defeated the Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins, with 60% of the vote in the general election. She won re-election in 2014, defeating Oklahoma state representative Joe Dorman. Term limits barred Fallin from seeking a third term to the governorship in 2018; fellow Republican Kevin Stitt was elected to succeed her.
Early life, education, and early career Fallin was born Mary Copeland in Warrensburg, Missouri, the daughter of Mary Jo (née Duggan) and Joseph Newton Copeland. Her mother and father each served terms as mayor of Tecumseh, Oklahoma, where she was raised. They were both members of the Oklahoma Democratic Party. She was a Democrat until she was 21. That year she switched to the Republican Party of Oklahoma and became active with the Young Republicans. She graduated from Tecumseh High School and attended Oklahoma Baptist University, in Shawnee. Fallin holds a bachelor of science degree in human and environmental sciences, and family relations and child development from Oklahoma State University (1977). At Oklahoma State she joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
Government and Private Sector Employment After college, Fallin worked for the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, and the Oklahoma Office of Personnel Management. In 1983, she went to the private sector as a hotel manager for Lexington Hotel and Suites, located at Richmond Square near Blackwelder and Northwest Expressway which was later demolished to make way for OnCue. She has also worked as marketing director for a Ski Lodge in Utah, and in Oklahoma was a commercial real estate broker.
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Elections Fallin ran for the 85th district of the Oklahoma House of Representatives after incumbent Mike Hunter announced his retirement in December 1989. She won the Republican primary in August and the general election in November. In 1992, she won re-election to a second term unopposed.
Tenure She represented Oklahoma City in the House, and authored 16 bills that became law. In 1992, Oklahoma became one of the first five states in the nation to enact anti-stalking legislation when Fallin authored and introduced HB 2291, which made it illegal to stalk or harass people. Fallin was active with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and was recognized by ALEC as Legislator of the Year in 1993. Also that year she was named Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Business. According to The Almanac of American Politics, she "championed victims' rights and health care reform."
Lieutenant Governor (1995–2007)
Elections After two terms in the House, Fallin decided to run for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma. Ultimately she ran in three elections that year, all of which were against other women, and raised about $200,000. She faced two other candidates in the Republican primary. Terry Neese ranked first with 38% of the vote, but failed to reach the 50% threshold needed to win outright. Fallin ranked second with 36% of the vote, qualifying for the run-off election. She defeated Neese in the run-off primary election 53%–47%. She defeated Democrat Nance Diamond 50%–44%. She did well in the northwest region, the Oklahoma Panhandle, and her home Oklahoma County.
She won re-election to a second term in 1998, defeating Jack Morgan 68%–32%. She won all but nine counties, all of which were located in the far eastern part of the state. She won re-election to a third term in 2002, defeating Democratic State Representative Laura Boyd 57%–39%, dominating the eastern part of the state.
Tenure In 1995, Fallin became the first woman and first Republican to be sworn in as lieutenant governor of Oklahoma, an office she would hold for 12 years. As lieutenant governor, Fallin served on 10 boards and commissions. Early in her tenure, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, located in Oklahoma City, was bombed, killing 168 people in what became the worst case of domestic terrorism in United States history; Fallin led a task force to rebuild the childcare center that was lost in the attack. In 1997, she chaired the Fallin Commission on Workers' Compensation, which released a comprehensive reform plan to lower costs in the state's workers' compensation system. Fallin promoted Project Homesafe, a national initiative of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade association, to distribute free cable gun locks to reduce the risk of accidental in-home shootings.
In her role as the president of the state senate, Fallin promoted legislation to adopt a right-to-work law prohibiting labor unions from requiring members to pay union dues as a condition of employment; Oklahoma ultimately passed a right-to-work law in 2001. With 12 years of service, Fallin was the third longest-serving Lieutenant Governor in Oklahoma history.
Leadership positions
In 1998, Fallin served as chairwoman of the National Lieutenant Governors Association. In 1999, she served as chairwoman of the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association. Fallin also served as the national Chairwoman of the Aerospace States Association.
U.S. House of Representatives (2007–2011)
Elections
2006
Fallin decided not to seek re-election to a fourth term as lieutenant governor. Instead, she decided to run in Oklahoma's 5th congressional district, after incumbent Republican congressman Ernest Istook decided to run for governor of Oklahoma. Fallin also considered running for governor and challenging incumbent Democrat Brad Henry, but decided against it given Henry's popularity as measured in polls at the time. Istook lost to Henry by a landslide of 33 percentage points.
The July 25 Republican primary for the 5th district had six candidates. Fallin received 35% of the vote. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett finished second with 24% of the vote. The contest between her and Cornett was largely financial. They had few differences on the issues, but Fallin had a big cash advantage. On August 22, 2006, she defeated Cornett in the run-off primary election, 63%–37%.
Fallin won the general election on November 7, defeating Democrat Paul David Hunter 60%–40%.
2008
Fallin easily won re-election in 2008, defeating Democrat Steve Perry 66%–34%.
Tenure
Fallin became the first woman elected to Congress from Oklahoma since 1920, when Alice Mary Robertson became Oklahoma's first (and the nation's second) woman to be elected to Congress. Fallin resigned her position as Lieutenant Governor on January 2, 2007, in order to be sworn into Congress on January 4, 2007. Lieutenant Governor-elect Jari Askins was appointed by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to fill the remaining days of Fallin's term.
The 5th district included Oklahoma, Pottawatomie, and Seminole counties.
In June 2007, she passed her first bill: a revamping of federal grants for women's business centers. She joined a group of 38 Republicans who opposed an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
During the 2008 financial crisis, Fallin voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.Sue Kirchhoff, Bailout passes House 263-171, USA Today (October 3, 2008).Ashli Sims, Campaign Ad Attacking Congresswoman Mary Fallin Put to Truth Test, News 9 Now / News on 6 Now (July 17, 2010). However, Fallin voted against the auto industry rescue plan of 2008.Fallin releases statement on auto bailout bill, Edmond Sun (December 11, 2008).Jim Myers, State delegation 4-1 against auto bailout, Tulsa World (December 11, 2008).
From 2007 to 2010, she served as the top Republican on the House Small Business subcommittee with oversight over the Small Business Administration. In this capacity, she joined subcommittee chairman Jason Altmire and fellow Oklahoma Republican congressman John Sullivan in holding a congressional field hearing in Tulsa to investigate the impact of federal energy proposals on Oklahoma businesses.
Committee assignments House Committee on Armed Services House Committee on Small Business House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure United States House Committee on Natural Resources
Caucus memberships In addition to her committee assignments, she served on the Executive Committee of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Small Business Chairwoman on the Republican Policy Committee, and Vice Chairwoman of the Congressional Women's Caucus.
2010 gubernatorial election
In September 2009, Fallin and four other candidates had announced their intentions to run for governor to succeed Brad Henry. Along with Fallin they were: Former President of the Oklahoma Office Machine Dealers Association (OOMDA) Roger L. Jackson (R) Attorney General of Oklahoma Drew Edmondson (D) Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma Jari Askins (D) State Senator Randy Brogdon (R) Oklahoma business owner Robert Hubbard (R) Fallin won the Republican nomination with 136,460 votes, ahead of her nearest challenger, State Senator Randy Brogdon, who received 98,159 votes. Former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed Fallin in the primary. On November 2, 2010, Fallin defeated Democratic nominee Jari Askins 60% to 39% to become Oklahoma's first female governor.
Governor of Oklahoma (2011–2019)
Transition, staff and advisors In the election in which Fallin was elected governor, every statewide Republican official on the ballot was victorious, and for the first time in Oklahoma history, Republicans dominated all 11 statewide positions.Michael McNutt, Fallin prepares to Oklahoma's governor, The Oklahoman (November 28, 2010). Fallin began her transition by holding a joint press conference with outgoing governor Brad Henry.
Fallin named Devon Energy chairman and CEO Larry Nichols as the chairman of her transition team and outgoing Oklahoma Senate President pro tempore Glenn Coffee (R-Tulsa) as the Transition's Co-Chairman. She also established her Governor's Taskforce on Economic Development to advise her on matters related to the economy. Members of that task force include BancFirst CEO David Rainbolt and former Walters Administration Secretary of Agriculture Gary Sherrer. Former Keating Administration Secretary of Energy Robert J. Sullivan, Jr. serves as the director of the Taskforce as the Special Advisor to the Governor on Economic Development.Fallin Transition Team, Office of Governor-elect Mary Fallin, 11-30-10