David Holt Bio
David Holt (born March 10, 1979) is an American attorney, academic, and politician who has built a career spanning federal and state government, municipal leadership, and legal education. He has served as the 38th mayor of Oklahoma City since 2018 and as dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law since 2023. A member of the Osage Nation through his mother, Holt represented Oklahoma’s 30th district in the State Senate from 2010 to 2018 before resigning to become mayor. In 2025, he was elected president of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Early Life and Background
David Holt was born and raised in northwest Oklahoma City, the son of Stroud Holt and Mary Ann Fuller Holt. Through his mother, he is a member of the Osage Nation, a heritage that has shaped his public identity and his focus on Native representation in Oklahoma civic life. He attended Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City, where he completed his secondary education before moving east for college.
Holt earned a Bachelor of Arts from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., an experience that placed him in close proximity to federal policymaking. He later returned to Oklahoma to attend law school, completing his Juris Doctor at Oklahoma City University in 2009. His academic path combined a national perspective with a deep commitment to his home state, setting the stage for a career that bridged Washington and Oklahoma.
Path to US Politics
David Holt’s entry into politics began in the national arena, where he became active in the Republican Party during his early professional years. He served as an aide to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, working in the Speaker’s office during the September 11, 2001 attacks. From 2002 to 2004, Holt served in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs under President George W. Bush, gaining firsthand experience with executive-branch operations.
After returning to Oklahoma in 2004 to serve as state campaign coordinator for President Bush’s reelection, Holt continued building his political resume by working for U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe and Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallin. In 2006, he was appointed chief of staff to Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, a role that introduced him to municipal governance and laid the groundwork for his own mayoral ambitions. He also wrote the nonfiction book Big League City: Oklahoma City’s Rise to the NBA in 2012, which documented the arrival of major league sports in the city, including the 2008 relocation of the National Basketball Association’s Seattle SuperSonics to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.
David Holt Career
Early Career (2002–2010)
David Holt’s early career was defined by service in Republican politics at both the federal and state levels. After his White House tenure, he returned to Oklahoma to coordinate the 2004 Bush reelection campaign, then served U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe and Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallin. In 2006, he was appointed chief of staff to Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, a position that immersed him in city operations and budget politics.
During these years, Holt also began building a public voice. He was named an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City University, where he would later earn his law degree in 2009, and in 2012 he published Big League City, a book on the city’s path to the National Basketball Association. These experiences positioned him as a Republican with both policy credentials and a deep understanding of Oklahoma City’s identity.
State Senate Breakthrough (2010–2018)
David Holt was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate on July 27, 2010, winning 64% of the vote in the Republican primary and running unopposed in the general election. He took office on November 16, 2010, succeeding Glenn Coffee, the first Republican Senate president pro tempore in Oklahoma history. Representing the 30th district, Holt focused on tax policy, working to eliminate or reduce the state income tax.
He rose quickly through the Senate’s Republican leadership, serving as Majority Caucus Vice Chair in his first term and as majority whip for the 2013–14 legislative sessions. Holt was also named vice chair of the new Appropriations Subcommittee on Select Agencies and served as a Republican member of the Electoral College in 2012. He was reelected to a second term in 2014 without opposition, and for the 2015 and 2016 sessions he chaired the Appropriations Subcommittee on Select Agencies. He also served as Oklahoma campaign chair for Marco Rubio’s 2015 and 2016 presidential campaigns. In 2015, Holt authored a law creating an online voter registration system, and in 2016 he authored a law establishing a revenue stabilization fund. In 2017 and 2018, he chaired the Appropriations Subcommittee for Public Safety and Judiciary and worked on increasing teacher pay.
First Term as Mayor (2018–2022)
David Holt announced his candidacy for mayor of Oklahoma City in 2017 and was elected on February 13, 2018, defeating Taylor Neighbors and Randall Smith in a nonpartisan race. He was sworn in on April 10, 2018, at 39 years and one month old, becoming the youngest mayor of Oklahoma City since 1923 and the youngest mayor of a U.S. city with more than 500,000 residents. He was also the city’s first Native American mayor.
In 2019, Holt led the development and passage of MAPS 4, a $1.1 billion initiative covering 16 city priorities. The Oklahoman called Holt the architect of the most ambitious MAPS ever, and the measure received 71.7% of the vote on December 10, 2019, a modern record for a sales tax vote in Oklahoma City. That same year, the city opened its new streetcar system, a MAPS 3-funded project. Holt also signed an agreement with five other cities to form Oklahoma’s first Regional Transit Authority, with plans to build a metropolitan rail system. In 2019, he was elected to the leadership of the United States Conference of Mayors and named vice-chair of the International Affairs Committee, and in 2020 he was elected a trustee of the Conference and to the board of the National League of Cities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Holt declared a state of emergency on the day the first local case was identified, issued a shelter-in-place order, and supported a mask ordinance during a second peak in the summer of 2020. He designated Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Pride Week in Oklahoma City, joined a $26 million civil rights center in the MAPS 4 initiative, and met with Black Lives Matter leaders following the 2020 protests after the murder of George Floyd. In March 2021, he opened a $288 million convention center, and in May 2021 he authored and passed legislation repealing 85% of Oklahoma City’s occupational licenses.
Second Term as Mayor (2022–2026)
Holt was reelected to a second term on February 8, 2022, receiving 59.8% of the vote in a four-way nonpartisan race, 40 points ahead of his nearest competitor. The election produced the largest voter turnout for an Oklahoma City mayoral election since 1959. His second term began in May 2022, and the following month he broke ground on the city’s first Bus Rapid Transit line, a 9.5-mile, $28.9 million project. In July 2022, the Oklahoma City Council recreated a Human Rights Commission, which the city had lacked since 1996, fulfilling a task force Holt created in 2020.
In November 2022, Holt supported a nearly $1 billion bond issue for public school infrastructure, with both ballot questions receiving over 60% approval. In 2023, he was named dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law effective July 1, 2023, while continuing as mayor. That June, he was elected president of the United States Conference of Mayors for 2025–2026, and in August 2023 he spoke at the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. In September 2023, he proposed a plan to publicly fund a new arena in exchange for a commitment from the Oklahoma City Thunder to remain in the city beyond 2050. Under the agreement, taxpayers would pay at least $850 million toward a $900 million arena, while the team, valued at $3 billion, would pay $50 million, and in a December 2023 referendum, 71% of voters approved a six-year sales tax to fund the project. In 2025, Holt announced that two sports—canoe slalom and softball—encompassing seven events would be staged in Oklahoma City during the 2028 Summer Olympics, making the city the only one outside southern California slated to host the entirety of a sport at those Games. In June 2025, he became the 83rd president of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Notable Events and Milestones
David Holt’s tenure has been defined by several signature achievements, including becoming Oklahoma City’s first Native American mayor and the youngest mayor of a U.S. city over 500,000 residents. The passage of the $1.1 billion MAPS 4 initiative in 2019 set a modern sales-tax vote record, while the 2023 arena deal secured the Oklahoma City Thunder’s long-term presence in the city. His 2025 election as president of the United States Conference of Mayors marked a national milestone, and his role in bringing Olympic events to Oklahoma City for the 2028 Summer Olympics positioned the city on an international stage.
David Holt Family
Family Background and Heritage
David Holt was born to Stroud Holt and Mary Ann Fuller Holt and raised in northwest Oklahoma City. Through his mother, he is a member of the Osage Nation, a heritage that has informed his public service and made him a historic first as Oklahoma City’s first Native American mayor. His family’s roots in the region have remained central to his identity throughout his political career.
Personal Life
David Holt is married to Rachel Canuso, and the couple has two children. The family lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and they are members of the Episcopal Church. Holt’s personal life has remained closely tied to the community he serves.