Now he鈥檚 likely to be the next state superintendent after defeating teacher and conservative pastor James Taylor in the Republican runoff Tuesday. 

鈥淚 thought to myself, 鈥業f we lose, at least it edifies the work that you’re doing. You’ll have a much more grounded perspective,鈥� 鈥� he told 社区黑料 in an interview.

He鈥檒l face the Democratic candidate Jennettie Marshall, a pastor and former Tulsa Public Schools board member, in November. But in such a conservative state, Franklin is expected to be the frontrunner. 

With strong support from pro-public school networks, Franklin鈥檚 primary win represents a clear departure from the state鈥檚 last elected state superintendent, conservative firebrand Ryan Walters. The former history teacher pushed Bibles in classrooms, threatened to revoke teachers鈥� licenses for teaching topics some view as divisive and filled his calendar with appearances on conservative talk shows. Critics said he neglected the state鈥檚 education system. 

Franklin, a moderate Republican, has more than 40 years in education as a teacher, administrator and associate superintendent at Tulsa Tech, an independent district offering career training to high school students and adults. As a former member of the state鈥檚 now-defunct virtual charter school board, he voted against allowing the state to open the nation鈥檚 first religious charter school, separating himself from Walters and other officials who battled unsuccessfully all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to establish the school. With the state now trying to improve its poor educational rankings, where it is nearly last in the nation, one political expert said Franklin seemed 鈥渓ike the safer choice.鈥�

鈥淩yan Walters is pretty fresh in a lot of folks鈥� memories across the state, including Republicans,鈥� said Deven Carlson, a public policy researcher at the University of Oklahoma. As an inductee into the state鈥檚 Educator Hall of Fame, Franklin, he said 鈥渋s kind of a known quantity in the education space.鈥�

Franklin stepped into the race after Rob Miller, former superintendent of the Bixby Public Schools and an outspoken critic of Walters, withdrew . Teacher groups quickly shifted their support to Franklin, who along with Taylor, edged out five other candidates in the June primary, including state Sen. Adam Pugh.

Walters, who had been expected to run for governor, left his job a year early and now runs an organization that encourages teachers to opt out of their unions. Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Lindel Fields, a retired career and technical education administrator, to complete the term and has since appointed him as education secretary. 

Fields some of Walters鈥� policies, like requiring classrooms to have Bibles and expecting applicants for teaching positions from blue states to take an , a conservative media company. The multiple choice test covered civics and history topics, but also included ideological questions about parental rights and gender issues.

Education advocates see Franklin as one who can further mend the relationship between school districts and the department.

鈥淔ranklin is hands down the most qualified person that we’ve ever seen run for this position in the history of the state,鈥� said Erika Wright, founder of and now a community organizer with the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.

Taylor, meanwhile, appealed to many of the same groups that helped Walters win in 2022, like the . He for more Christianity in the classroom and teaching students 鈥渢he word of God鈥� through historical documents. 

He proposed to under countywide school boards as a way to save money, but Franklin warned that such an approach would take away local control.

The state鈥檚 Republican party ahead of the runoff. It has historically remained neutral until the nominees are named. Some in the party criticized the move as an attempt to influence voters ahead of the runoff.

Taylor said his job as a history and government teacher in the Little Axe Public Schools, outside Oklahoma City, would give him the insight he needed to lead the state education department. But some called his success as an educator into question after records showed that he taught in an Advanced Placement U.S. Government class took the exam. He only taught the class once in 2024.

After his defeat Tuesday night, Taylor posted on , 鈥淚 exit this race with zero regrets.鈥�

鈥楶ockets of excellence鈥�

Franklin faced his own controversy during the campaign, a 2014 incident in which he accidentally with disabilities at a camp he co-founded in 1986. The issue came to light when the child鈥檚 mother warned not to vote for Franklin and accused him of having 鈥渆xplosive anger issues.鈥�

In a statement, Franklin, a former special education teacher, explained that he was trying to get control of a child who had become aggressive. When he grabbed the boy, he left scratches behind his ears.聽

鈥淚鈥檝e worked with thousands of individuals with special needs,鈥� he told 社区黑料. 鈥淚’ve had to intervene a lot with young people. Sometimes it just doesn’t go according to script.鈥�

The camp鈥檚 director confirmed that he was trying to de-escalate a situation and said the camp鈥檚 leaders took appropriate action.

Whoever wins in November will oversee implementation of a that requires struggling readers in the early grades to be held back or receive extra help. Third graders not proficient in reading would be required to repeat the grade unless they qualify for an exemption. This year鈥檚 state test scores show that about 24% of students reached the proficiency level, a slight drop from last year.

鈥淥klahomans expect both candidates in the general election for state superintendent to make the case for how they will lead the successful implementation of our state鈥檚 landmark reading reforms,鈥� said Dave Bond, vice president for advocacy at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank. 鈥淭hose reforms passed our state legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support earlier this year, and our next state superintendent has a mandate to approach them with a no-excuses focus on student success.鈥�

Franklin or Marshall will also inherit a system in which districts often rely on emergency certified teachers to staff classrooms. 

Franklin said it鈥檚 important to look for 鈥減ockets of excellence鈥� in the state where schools are outperforming in reading outcomes even though they serve a higher-poverty population. He suggested establishing regional support centers to make expertise more readily available to districts.

But 鈥渨e just don’t have enough trained educators in front of young people,鈥� he said. Turnover rates are higher among teachers with emergency credentials. 鈥淲e’re just kind of spinning our wheels, trying to train people and get them up to speed.鈥�

The state, he said, should consider tax breaks for teachers, like it has for . 

Marshall, the Democratic candidate, has also made teacher recruitment and retention a part of her platform, and has said that serving on the school board in Tulsa, the state鈥檚 largest district, to lead the state education agency. She said she would focus on being a smart steward of state funds and that a lack of resources 鈥渋s one of the main reasons that we’re struggling.鈥� 

Her diverse career includes 17 years with the Department of Corrections as a parole officer and three years as a child welfare investigator.

Like Franklin, Marshall has pledged to keep policies focused on core academics and not politically divisive topics that put children and teachers in the middle of polarizing debates.

But the future state chief may have to work with a governor who, during , said the state has 鈥�541 school districts that are run by liberal, left-leaning radical socialists.鈥�

Businessman and former state senator narrowly defeated Attorney General Gentner Drummond in the GOP runoff Tuesday. Endorsed by President Donald Trump, he鈥檚 called for partisan school board elections as a way to tip districts toward more conservative policies. He鈥檒l face Democrat Cyndi Munson, minority leader in the state House, in the general election.

Governors appoint the state school board, which the future superintendent will have to work with to implement any new policies. Carlson, with the University of Oklahoma, said Mazzei doesn鈥檛 have much of a 鈥減olitical track record.鈥�

鈥淲e really don鈥檛 know what we鈥檙e getting,鈥� he said.

Mazzei has promised to appoint a state literacy director, but Marshall sees a potential conflict with that arrangement. 

鈥淭hat person is going to usurp the authority of the department and there’s going to be a whole new battle,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat’s why education is hurting; there are too many irrelevant distractions.鈥� 

But Wright, with Appleseed, said Franklin is capable of navigating political differences as they arise.聽

鈥淚f there’s anyone that can bridge that divide,鈥� she said, 鈥渋t’s Dr. Franklin.鈥�