George Nigh

George Patterson Nigh (June 9, 1927 – July 30, 2025) was an American politician and civic leader from the state of Oklahoma. Nigh served as the 17th and the 22nd governor of Oklahoma and as the eighth and tenth lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. He was the first Oklahoma governor to be re-elected and the first to win all 77 counties in the state. Additionally, short term vacancies in the governor's office twice resulted in Nigh assuming gubernatorial duties while serving as lieutenant governor.

Following his service as governor, Nigh served as president of the University of Central Oklahoma. Prior to his election to statewide office, he worked as a teacher and legislator.

Early life and career Nigh was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on June 9, 1927, and was the son of Wilbur R. and Irene Crockett Nigh. He had four siblings and worked at a grocery store as a child before graduating from McAlester High School in 1945. He joined the United States Navy in 1945 and served on the USS Ranger before leaving the navy to attend college in 1946. He graduated from Eastern Oklahoma State College with an associate's in liberal arts in 1948 and East Central University with a teaching degree in 1950. While a student at East Central University in 1950, he ran for the Oklahoma House of Representatives and won.

He was the brother of William Nigh, an Oklahoma representative.

Political career

From 1951 to 1959, Nigh alternated between service in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as a teacher in the McAlester public schools. During his tenure in the state legislature, he introduced legislation designating "Oklahoma!" as the state song. Nigh ran for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 1958; he finished second in the Democratic primary behind Cowboy Pink Williams with 80,727 votes (18.77%) to Williams' 176,171 votes (40.97%). Nigh defeated Williams in the runoff with 302,050 votes (61.32%) to 190,530 (38.68%). Williams himself had finished second behind incumbent lieutenant governor James E. Berry in the 1954 Democratic primary, before beating him in the runoff. In the general election, Nigh beat Republican George B. Sherritt in a landslide by 384,431 votes (76.86%) to 100,068 (20.01%).

Nigh had remained a bachelor until after he left public office for the first time. He met his future wife, Donna Mashburn, following his initial nine-day term as governor in 1963 and married her on October 19, 1963. When they met, Donna already had a young son. The Nighs later had a daughter together. In 1970, he beat future district judge Ralph Gordon Thompson. Nigh served as the tenth lieutenant governor from January 9, 1967, to January 3, 1979, making him the second longest-serving Oklahoma lieutenant governor in state history with 16 years of service.

Governor of Oklahoma When incumbent governor David Boren chose not to seek reelection, Nigh ran for Governor again in 1978. He came first in the Democratic primary with 276,910 votes (49.94%), narrowly short of avoiding a runoff against Oklahoma Attorney General Larry Derryberry, who took 208,055 votes (37.53%). However, in the runoff, Nigh defeated him easily, with 269,681 votes (57.73%) to Derryberry's 197,457 (42.27%). Nigh defeated Republican Ron Shotts in the general election with 402,240 votes (51.74%) to Shotts' 367,055 (47.22%) and thereby became the first Oklahoma Governor to serve a second term. Nigh took office five days early, as a result of outgoing Governor David Boren's swearing-in as a U.S. Senator. He ran for a second term in 1982 becoming the third governor to do so, and defeated token opposition in the Democratic primary with 379,301 votes (82.63%) as well as Republican State Auditor Tom Daxon in the general election by 548,159 votes (62.07%) to 332,207 (37.62%), carrying all 77 of the state's counties. It was the first reelection of an Oklahoma Governor. At the inaugural address for his second full term, Nigh quoted the Pogo comic strip: "We have found the enemy, and he is us."

Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986 Nigh appointed the Nigh Commission to recommend changes to state government. He served on the board of directors of JCPenney and IBC Bank.

In 1990, he was inducted into the Oklahoma CareerTech Hall of Fame

On April 28, 2010, Nigh and his wife were robbed at gunpoint in the driveway of their northwest Oklahoma City home. They were uninjured, though Nigh's wallet was taken. It was reported that no suspect was found.

Nigh died on July 30, 2025, at the age of 98.