The state’s minimum wage will remain at $7.25.

Voters on Tuesday defeated State Question 832 which would have gradually increased the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2029 with additional increases based on the cost of living.

Oklahoma’s minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009. It is also the national minimum wage.

“The State Chamber applauds Oklahoma voters for rejecting SQ 832,” said Chad Warmington, president and CEO of the State Chamber. “Tonight, voters chose to protect Oklahoma’s economic momentum and one of our greatest competitive advantages: affordability.”

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The State Chamber was among the organizations that unsuccessfully tried to stop the measure from qualifying for the ballot.

The increase would have begun January 1, when it would reach $12 an hour.

“What I know is that we won regardless of what the results show because we started a conversation about what work should mean in the state of Oklahoma,” said Amber England, the spokesperson and senior adviser for State Question 832. “And if you work hard, you should earn a decent living. That doesn’t change tonight. That doesn’t change tomorrow. You can’t put this conversation back in a box.”

England said she believes the measure would have fared differently if it was on a ballot with higher voter turnout, like the November general election.

“This result is not indicative of the will of the people,” England said. “It’s indicative of a political machine who wanted a specific outcome, and they got it tonight, but it doesn’t mean that we’re going to stop fighting for higher wages for Oklahoma families.”

In 2024, Governor Kevin Stitt set the election date for Tuesday after supporters gathered enough signatures to get it on the ballot.

Critics said it would drive up the cost for consumers, who will be forced to pay more when businesses pass on the cost.

But supporters said it was necessary to help individuals cope with rising grocery, housing and energy costs.

Emma Rolls and Jandi Followill sat together at the Superfly bar in Oklahoma City, where Raise the Wage Oklahoma supporters were gathered to watch the results come in. While not attending the watch party, both said they voted in support of increasing the minimum wage

“I think without it, we are falling further and further behind,” Rolls said.

Followill, a single woman, said she worries especially about employees trying to provide for their families while working hourly jobs.

“Survival is impossible on that wage,” Followill said.

Thirty states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than $7.25 an hour.

The minimum wage for the District of Columbia is the highest at $17.95 an hour, followed by Washington at $17.13 per hour.

Several bills filed in the Legislature in the last couple of years which would have hiked minimum wage failed to gain support.