Preliminary hearing set for Oklahoma's state school superintendent

The Oklahoman reports that Hofmeister, 52, was charged in November with two counts of accepting illegal donations to her 2014 campaign and two counts of conspiring to break campaign fundraising laws.

Oklahoma County Special Judge Kevin McCray will decide at the August hearing if prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a jury trial.

Hofmeister, a Tulsa Republican, has denied wrongdoing. She was elected in 2014, and is a former teacher and former member of the state board of education.

Prosecutors have alleged that Hofmeister used the Oklahomans for Public School Excellence to secretly accept illegal excessive donations and illegal corporate donations.

Charged with her in the conspiracy counts are Fount Holland, 53, her chief campaign consultant, and Stephanie Dawn Milligan, 37, a political consultant. Also charged in the conspiracy counts are Lela Odom, 68, who in 2014 was the executive director of the Oklahoma Education Association, and Steven Crawford, 67, who was the executive director of the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration.