Oklahoma Gubernatorial Candidates Face Off Over the $7.25 Minimum Wage
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma — Oklahoma's two major-party candidates for governor offered sharply opposing proposals on October 26 on the state's $7.25-an-hour minimum wage. Democrat Cyndi Munson said she would make raising the minimum wage an early priority if elected; Republican Mike Mazzei stated clearly that he opposes any increase, arguing that a raise could hurt jobs. Munson noted that at the current rate, a full-time worker earns about $15,000 a year before taxes, while covering basic expenses such as rent for a one-bedroom apartment, utilities, food and gasoline requires a wage of at least $14.45 an hour.
In 2025 she introduced a bill in the state House to set the minimum wage at $15 an hour, but it did not make it out of committee. Mazzei pointed to voters' rejection earlier this year of a citizen proposal to raise the wage to $15 by 2029 as the basis for his position against an increase. Oklahoma is one of twenty states in the nation still maintaining the $7.25 federal standard.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 俄克拉何马州议会大厦（位于俄克拉何马市）。图片：w_lemay，CC BY-SA 2.0，取自维基共享资源。
