Mike Hunter

Mike Hunter | Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter was elected as Oklahoma’s eighteenth attorney general on November 6, 2018. As attorney general, he has made the safety and security of all Oklahomans one of his top priorities. Determined to end the state’s opioid overdose and addiction epidemic, his office has taken a multidisciplinary approach to solving the problem. Shortly after taking office, he formed the Oklahoma Commission on Opioid Abuse. The commission brought all stakeholders to the table and saw seven pieces of legislation become law in 2018. The laws give more tools to law enforcement personnel, prevents the diversion of opioid prescriptions from flooding the market and holds distributors, manufacturers and businesses accountable through proper oversight. Hunter has also filed a lawsuit on the nation’s leading opioid manufacturers for waging a more than decade-long fraudulent marketing campaign that has profited from the anguish of Oklahomans, who have become addicted or died because of the crisis. Oklahoma’s lawsuit to hold opioid manufacturers was the first to go to trial out of the more than 2,000 other lawsuits filed around the nation. The historic trial lasted nearly eight weeks and Hunter and his team secured a major victory for the state, as the evidence convinced the judge to rule in the state’s favor, holding Johnson & Johnson accountable and requiring the company to abate the ongoing opioid epidemic in Oklahoma. The judge’s ruling is the first of its kind in the country to find an opioid manufacturer liable for the harm caused from the opioid crisis in the United States. Prior to the trial, two defendants settled with the state for a combined $355 million. The bulk of the money will go to the OSU Center for Wellness & Recovery to create an endowment at the university, which will go toward treating the ongoing addiction epidemic nationwide. The remainder of the funds will go to abating the epidemic. He is also prosecuting the minority within the minority of doctors who over prescribe, use their prescribing authority unlawfully or run pill mills. Through the consumer protection unit, Hunter’s office has successfully prosecuted scam artists, shutting down their illicit enterprises. At the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Hunter’s office represents rate payers and ensures Oklahomans aren’t paying more than what is necessary for utility services. Since he has been in office, his team has secured several settlement agreements with electric companies that have returned money to ratepayers or have held them harmless. In 2018, the attorney general and his team secured a historic $64 million rate reduction settlement agreement for OG&E customers, resulting in lower utility bills. The settlement agreement represented the largest rate reduction ever for an Oklahoma energy utility. Hunter also continues upholding the values most important to Oklahomans by defending First Amendment rights and protecting religious liberties. Whether it was when a Washington, D.C. based special interest demanded East Central University remove a cross from the campus chapel. Hunter drew a hard line – rejecting the demands to remove the cross and religious materials, saying the state has no desire to negotiate with the group in the matter. Since his office stepped in, the state has yet to hear back from the group. Or, more recently, when he provided clarity on the state’s Religious Freedom Act to a school board, which ultimately allowed Cherokee students to engage in the spiritual practice of wearing eagle feathers to their graduation ceremonies. Hunter consistently advocates for and remains committed to defending industries vital to the state’s economy and is unapologetic and uncompromising when pushing back on burdensome overreach and unnecessary regulations. Hunter stood up for the rights of the state’s property owners by pushing back on the illegal WOTUS rule. A move where The Oklahoman’s editorial board gave Hunter credit for his swift response. With a coalition of 14 other attorneys general, Hunter and his colleagues were successful in helping get a federal judge to dismiss a baseless lawsuit filed by two left-wing California cities that targeted numerous energy and manufacturing companies. The lawsuit sought millions from the companies for ‘creating a public nuisance.' He has held numerous positions within state government, including secretary of state for two governors, secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office, general counsel at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and served a six-year term in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. On the federal level, Hunter worked as chief of staff to former Congressman J.C. Watts. He also worked as legal Counsel to Watts during his time on the National Security and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees in Congress. In the private sector, Hunter began his career focusing on energy and real estate law. He also worked as chief operating officer of the American Bankers Association, in Washington, D.C., which represents banks of all sizes and is the champion for the nation’s $13 trillion banking industry and its 2 million employees. Hunter received his law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University, making him the state’s first attorney general to receive an undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State. He grew up on a family farm in Garfield County, south of Enid, where he graduated from Pioneer High School. He has been married to his wife Cheryl for 38 years. They have two adult sons and a daughter-in-law, Barrett, his wife Rachael and Brock. Mike Hunter Bio/Photo Download Official Bio Download Condensed Bio for Introduction