TULSA, Okla. — A judge ruled a recount of the August 27 Tulsa mayoral election can proceed.

A court hearing was held Thursday morning where a presiding judge approved Tulsa Mayoral Candidate Brent VanNorman’s request for a recount.

On Election Day, mayoral candidates Monroe Nichols and Karen Keith got the most votes, advancing to a runoff election in November.

VanNorman was less than 500 votes behind Keith who had the second most votes.

Given the close results, VanNorman asked for a recount.

VanNorman told FOX23 it was his supporters and campaign that pushed him to request a recount.

“Most elections recounts are not successful, but I had enough people come behind me. I was getting requests for that all day on Wednesday and into Thursday, then they were reporting issues that happened, so they ultimately said, ‘Hey, we’ll even fund it’,” said VanNorman.

VanNorman said within hours, his campaign had raised enough to cover the $12,000 deposit to request the filing.

He said it has little to do with trust in the election process for Tulsa, and more about building confidence in those results and for the November election.

“Given the incredibly narrow margin and the high stakes for Tulsa’s future, we believe a recount is justified and necessary. This decision isn’t about challenging the process but about reinforcing confidence in it. We trust in the process, and we want to verify the results to ensure full confidence in this election,” VanNorman said.

If the recount is consistent with last week’s results, VanNorman said he would not endorse either of the remaining two candidates.

The recount will be open to the public.

“This is not only the largest recount conducted by Tulsa County but also one of the largest in the State of Oklahoma, said Gwen Freeman, Secretary of the Tulsa County Election Board.

FOX23 reached out to the Monroe Nichols campaign, who sent the following statement:

“I’m proud of our campaign and how we performed on Tuesday. I have every confidence in the results and that they will be once again validated,” the statement reads. “While I do not believe a recount to be in anyway necessary, I have no issue with Mr. VanNorman’s request.”

Karen Keith’s campaign also responded with a statement:

“I respect Brent VanNorman and it is his right to spend $12,000 for a recount if he chooses, but I strongly believe the results will be exactly the same. I am proud to live in Oklahoma where our elections are safe and secure thanks to great election board staff and poll workers.