Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei drew accusations of a drug test "dodge" from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R-OK) after submitting a urine test over a hair follicle test, reports show.
Mazzei, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the Aug. 25 Republican runoff for Oklahoma governor, initially resisted calls to release any drug test at all.
Drummond has spent weeks questioning Mazzei's fitness for office, citing the results of a 2008 car accident, The Downballot reported.
Drummond posted his own hair follicle test results and called on Mazzei to do the same, Oklahoma Voice reported. The move set off a public confrontation days before the runoff.
"Take the test, Mike. Release the results. Give Oklahomans a straight answer," Drummond wrote on X.
Mazzei reversed course and released a urine test showing he was clean, according to Oklahoma Voice. Drummond's camp said the shorter-window test did not meet the bar.
"It looks like Mike is trying to pull a fast one on Oklahoma voters by taking a test that avoids the longer window," Matt Parker, Drummond's campaign manager, told Oklahoma Voice.
"Mike took the same standard drug test used by the NCAA and NFL, and passed," Jahan Wilcox, a Mazzei spokesperson, told Oklahoma Voice. "Drummond won't accept the result because the truth exposes his attack for exactly what it is, a lie."
The two tests are not equivalent, said Joseph Reilly, president of National Drug Screening, a Florida-based drug and alcohol testing firm.
"They're definitely different," Reilly told Oklahoma Voice. "They're not apples to apples at all."
A urine test detects drug use going back five or six days. A hair follicle test covers seven to 90 days, Reilly said.
Mazzei addressed the controversy in a Facebook video, defending his recovery from the accident that left him with nerve damage in his lower back.
"But thanks to God's healing power and the wisdom of my doctors, I am now completely restored," Mazzei said in the video. "I am not on drugs. My opponent is spreading another blatant lie," he added.
President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social, reaffirming his backing of Mazzei.
"Gentner Drummond is a FAKE Republican, who donated to SLEEPY Joe Biden," Trump wrote.
Trump also hit Drummond for saying he had "no opinion" on what Trump called the "BOGUS IMPEACHMENT" of himself.
Federal records show a $1,000 donation to Biden's 2020 campaign was made from a joint Drummond account and quickly refunded, according to the Drummonds.
