The 2019 Cherokee Nation of Oklahomaprincipal chief election was held on Saturday, June 1, 2019. Former Cherokee NationSecretary of StateChuck Hoskin, Jr. defeated Tribal Councilman Dick Lay in the election. A third candidate, Tribal Councilman David Walkingstick, also appeared on the ballot, but was disqualified due to campaign finance violations days before the election. Rhonda Brown-Fleming, the first Cherokee Freedman descendant to run for principal chief, was disqualified in March after the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled she did not meet tribal residency requirements. Federal courts affirmed the decision just before the election. The principal chief is the chief executive of the Cherokee Nation. Incumbent Principal Chief Bill John Baker was unable to seek re-election in 2019 due to term limits.
Election results
Hoskin won the election with 57.93% of the vote. Lay received 27.34% while Walkingstick, whose name was on ballot but was disqualified after absentee and early voting had begun, took 14.73%. Despite being disqualified, votes for Walkingstick were tallied to determine whether or not a runoff would be needed. Nearly 14,000 ballots were cast in the election. In the race for Deputy Chief, Brian Warner defeated former Tribal Council Speaker Meredith Frailey 58.88% to 41.12%.
Walkingstick controversy
Cherokee Nation elections are officially non-partisan, but the 2019 elections had heavy partisan overtones, with Walkingstick criticizing Hoskin and incumbent Baker's ties to the Democratic Party and calling for the Cherokee Nation to distance itself from Democrats. Walkingstick had early in the campaign expressed concerns about oversight, and called for federal officials to monitor the 2019 elections. Despite Cherokee law allowing campaign contributions only from individuals, a political action committee, Cherokees for Change LLC, was established by one of Walkingstick's campaign associates. Cherokees for Change argued that its funding and actions were allowed following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. The Cherokee Nation Election Commission disagreed and on May 6 ordered Cherokees for Change to cease its efforts to influence the election, which it determined to be in violation of tribal law. Although Walkingstick claimed no coordination existed between the PAC and his campaign, election officials determined he had violated tribal law and accepted donations from corporate entities on May 17. Walkingstick was disqualified from the election, although his name remained on the ballot. The Cherokee Supreme Court upheld the disqualification on May 29. Walkingstick subsequently threw his support behind Lay. Because Walkingstick was disqualified at such a late date, his name remained on the ballot; however, votes cast for him were not counted.
Challenge to results
Following the June 1 election, Lay and Frailey petitioned the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court to set aside the results and to order a new election. The petitioners accused the winning candidates of accepting illegal in-kind contributions and other campaign finance violations; however, the Cherokee Supreme Court found the complaints to be without merit.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a separate federally recognized tribe, also will hold elections for principal chief on September 5, 2019. Incumbent Principal Chief Richard Sneed was elected to his first full-term, having been elevated from Vice Chief in 2017 following the impeachment of then Principal Chief Patrick Lambert. Sneed and former Tribal Council Member Teresa McCoy, who was originally denied certification to run, advanced from the June primary to face off in the September general election, which Sneed won.
