On April 20, 2017, Pinnell announced his candidacy for the office of lieutenant governor.[10] On June 26, 2018, Pinnell finished in the top two in the
Republicanprimary election, and he and
Dana Murphy advanced to a
runoff election,[11] in which Pinnell defeated Murphy.[9] Pinnell defeated
Democratic candidate
Anastasia Pittman in the lieutenant gubernatorial election on November 6.[12] Pinnell was sworn in on January 14, 2019.[13]
On January 18, 2019, Governor
Kevin Stitt selected Pinnell to serve as the first
Oklahoma Secretary of Tourism and Branding, wherein he oversees the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.[14] Stitt separated the departments of Tourism and Commerce to be their own stand-alone agencies.[15] He resigned as Secretary of Tourism and Branding on March 1, 2024.[16]
Controversies
In June 2023, after severe storms hit parts of Oklahoma that involved hurricane-force winds and tornadic activity that knocked out power for days for more than 100,000 energy customers during severe heat waves, Pinnell did not inform
Greg Treat that he was the acting Governor who could declare a state of emergency, which Treat eventually did days after the event.[17] Treat was not informed ahead of time he was acting Governor while Stitt was in Paris and Pinnell was also out of state.[18] Stitt had not responded to Tulsa Mayor
G.T. Bynum's calls for assistance.[19][20][21][22][23] However, six days after the event, Stitt was saying he was in contact with Bynum[24] and Bynum redirected attentions elsewhere from the story.[25] At least three people died from the storms.[26]
Personal life
Pinnell and his wife, Lisa, have four children.[27]
Italics indicate next-in-line of succession for states and territories without a directly elected
lieutenant governor or whose lieutenant governor office is vacant: