Erica Watkins

Erica Watkins is the Democratic candidate for Oklahoma State Senate District 12 in the November 3, 2026 general election.[1][2] A U.S. Army National Guard veteran who served from 2007 to 2017, she is a founding board member of We're Oklahoma Education, according to a Ballotpedia survey.[1][3]

Erica Watkins was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and earned a high school diploma from Sapulpa High School, a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma State University, and a graduate degree from the University of Oklahoma.[1] Ballotpedia says she served in the U.S. Army National Guard from 2007 to 2017.[1] In a 2025 Ballotpedia survey, Watkins said she served 10 years in the Oklahoma Army National Guard, including a deployment to Afghanistan, and later earned degrees in sociology and global affairs and in global economics and development.[3] She said she has owned a small business and worked in education advocacy and community organizing, and that she and her husband are raising two children in Tulsa.[3]

Watkins also appears on Ballotpedia as having sought the Democratic nomination for Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District and for Oklahoma House District 68, but she did not appear on the June 16, 2026 primary ballot for either office.[1] In her 2025 survey, she listed transparent government and local control, economic policies including higher wages, stronger unions and support for small businesses, and fully funded public schools as key campaign messages, and said she opposes vouchers.[3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.