Second Okla. gubernatorial candidate defects from GOP

A Republican gubernatorial candidate on Tuesday renounced his political party and said he plans to challenge Gov. Kevin Stitt as an independent.

Dr. Ervin Yen, a former state senator and Oklahoma City anesthesiologist, criticized the Oklahoma Republican Party’s opposition to COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates and dismissed conservative conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, baseless claims Yen that have been debunked.

“The Oklahoma GOP has left me,” Yen said in a news release.