George Nigh

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From 1951 to 1959, Nigh alternated between service in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as a teacher in the McAlester public schools. During his tenure in the state legislature, he introduced legislation designating "Oklahoma!" as the state song. Nigh ran for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 1958; he finished second in the Democratic primary behind Cowboy Pink Williams with 80,727 votes (18.77%) to Williams' 176,171 votes (40.97%). Nigh defeated Williams in the runoff with 302,050 votes (61.32%) to 190,530 (38.68%). Williams himself had finished second behind incumbent Lieutenant Governor James E. Berry in the 1954 Democratic primary, before besting him in the runoff. In the general election, Nigh beat Republican George B. Sherritt in a landslide by 384,431 votes (76.86%) to 100,068 (20.01%). Nigh served from January 12, 1959 to January 3, 1963. Taking office at age 31, he became the youngest lieutenant governor in the United States.

Democratic Governor J. Howard Edmondson did not seek reelection in the 1962 election, so Nigh ran to succeed him. He came fourth in the Democratic primary with 84,404 votes (15.80%), behind National Commander of the American Legion Preston J. Moore, businessman W. P. Atkinson and former Governor Raymond Gary. Atkinson went on to win the runoff and lose the general election to Republican Henry Bellmon, but Nigh would get a chance to serve as governor. Democratic U.S. Senator Robert S. Kerr died in office on January 1, 1963 and Edmondson resigned his office 5 days later; Nigh succeeded him as governor for the remaining days of the term only to appoint him to the vacant Senate seat. On 14 January, Bellmon took office as governor.

Nigh ran for Lieutenant Governor again in 1966. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary in this and his re-election efforts, winning in 1966 with 328,580 votes (51.50%); in 1970 with 382,249 votes (57.41%) and in 1974 with 545,686 votes (72.36%). In 1970 he beat future district judge Ralph Gordon Thompson. Nigh served as the tenth lieutenant governor from January 9, 1967 to January 3, 1979, making him the second longest-serving Oklahoma lieutenant governor in state history with 16 years of service. In 1969, during his time serving as Lieutenant Governor, Nigh assisted a number of college students with the creation and founding of the “Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature” (O.I.L.), which still functions today as a collegiate model government program with delegations at over 20 colleges and universities across the state.

When incumbent governor David Boren chose not to seek reelection, Nigh ran for Governor again in 1978. He came first in the Democratic primary with 276,910 votes (49.94%), narrowly short of avoiding a runoff against Oklahoma Attorney General Larry Derryberry, who took 208,055 votes (37.53%). However, in the runoff, Nigh defeated him easily, with 269,681 votes (57.73%) to Derryberry's 197,457 (42.27%). Nigh defeated Republican Ron Shotts in the general election with 402,240 votes (51.74%) to Shotts' 367,055 (47.22%) and thereby became the first Oklahoma Governor to serve a second term. Nigh took office five days early, as a result of outgoing Governor David Boren's swearing-in as a U.S. Senator. He ran for a second term in 1982 becoming the third Governor to do so, and defeated token opposition in the Democratic primary with 379,301 votes (82.63%) as well as Republican State Auditor Tom Daxon in the general election by 548,159 votes (62.07%) to 332,207 (37.62%), carrying all 77 of the state's counties. It was the first reelection of an Oklahoma Governor. At the inaugural address for his second full term, Nigh quoted the Pogo comic strip "We have found the enemy, and he is us."

Nigh appointed the Nigh Commission to recommend changes to state government. During his two consecutive terms of office, Nigh signed the Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986, which regrouped the executive branch into agency function categories, although stopping short of consolidation of the more than 250 agencies, boards, and commissions. Nigh also signed into law the Oklahoma Franchise Tax Code, which established the franchise tax in Oklahoma.

Nigh is also credited with increasing the numbers of minorities serving on state boards and commissions, as well as management of state agencies. He appointed the first two women, Yvonne Kauger and Alma Wilson to serve as Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

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