Nichols, 41, will succeed Mayor GT Bynum and become the 41st mayor in the city’s history and the first Black Tulsan to serve as the city’s top elected official.

Nichols made his announcement at his campaign party at the Greenwood Cultural Center around 9:10 p.m. As of 10:35 p.m., according to unofficial results from the Tulsa County Board of Elections, Nichols had received 55.6% of the vote after 98% of precincts reported.

“If there’s anyone out there who still questions whether Tulsa is a place where great things are possible – if there’s anyone out there who doubts you can make a difference – then you got your answer tonight said Nichols. “More Tulsans voted in this year’s mayoral election than ever before in our city’s history. … They did it because they understood that building a strong city is the work of all of us.

“It’s been a long time coming, and tonight we made history.”

Nichols and Keith placed first and second, respectively, in the Aug. 27 general election, which featured seven mayoral candidates.

Nichols and Keith advanced to Tuesday’s runoff as the top two vote-getters, whose totals accounted for more than 50% of the vote.

That gave the candidates, all lifelong Democrats, 10 weeks to woo the many voters who cast their ballots for Republican Brent VanNorman on August 27.

VanNorman finished with 18,021 votes, or 31.08% of the total number cast, on the day, just 437 votes behind Keith and 731 votes behind Nichols.

At their watch party at the Stokely Event Center, Keith thanked her supporters and admitted the result wasn’t what they had hoped for.

“But now it’s time for all of us to fully support Monroe Nichols for mayor of Tulsa,” Keith said. “I’m really excited about the opportunities and think it’s great for some of our citizens who feel like they’ve never really been represented.”

“I hope we all move forward and remember the power of unity over division. So let’s get this done.”

According to the Tulsa County Election Board, 230,154 voters were registered to vote in Tuesday’s mayoral election. Of those, 39% were Republicans, 37% were Democrats, 23% were independents and 1% were libertarians.

In the 2020 mayoral election held in August of that year, there were 207,458 registered voters in Tulsa, of whom only 34% cast a ballot.

Keith and Nichols were not far apart on many of the policy issues that occupied the campaign. They each emphasized the need to address the city’s homeless problem, hire more police officers and increase the city’s housing stock.

The campaign intensified when Nichols accused Keith of failing to properly oversee operations at the county’s troubled juvenile detention center, and Keith countered by calling Nichols a “No Show Monroe” and criticizing his attendance record as District 72’s representative in the Oklahoma House .

Nichols was born and raised in Waco, Texas. He moved to Tulsa to attend the University of Tulsa, where he played football. After graduating, he worked as an assistant in the administration of former Mayor Kathy Taylor. This was the first of several jobs focused on public policy and education that preceded his election to the state House of Representatives in 2016.

He is also currently the Director of Policy and Partnerships at Strive Together, an organization dedicated to eliminating inequalities and transforming outcomes in communities.

At 41, Nichols will be one of the youngest mayors in the city’s history. Mayor GT Bynum, who decided not to seek re-election after two terms, was 38 when he was elected in the summer of 2016 and 39 when he was sworn in in December.

Keith spent the last 16 years representing District 2 on the Board of County Commissioners. Before her election, she worked as an aide to former Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune and in the Tulsa Regional Chamber.

World author Andrea Eger contributed to this story.