Bullied by Gov. Kevin Stitt all session long, lawmakers tore into the governor as adjournment neared with a ferocity not seen since … well, since Democrats ruled Oklahoma and were renowned for intra-party cage matches.

Was this a one-off, final-hours temper tantrum by legislators fed up with the governor? Or a sign they are embracing their constitutional authority as a co-equal branch of government?

We won’t know for sure until well into the 60^th Legislature’s second session next spring, but the animus between the executive and legislative branches is palpable. And there’s little reason to think it won’t persist well into 2026 when – who knows? – Stitt petulantly could veto every bill that reaches his desk during his final year in office.

Juvenile? Of course.

But remember, these aren’t small egos inhabiting the limestone Capitol’s offices. Indeed, more than a few of the 149 lawmakers fancy themselves as gubernatorial timber, whether they admit it or not.

Further complicating the always delicate executive-legislative dance: Stitt doesn’t appear to comprehend, much less appreciate that my-way-or-the-highway is rarely a recipe for statehouse success.

Why he metaphorically shot himself in the foot – first, by publicly threatening to primary legislators who didn’t bend to his will, then by impugning the integrity of a senator, the senator’s wife and a House leader – is baffling.

After all, until to the session’s final hours, the well-heeled governor got just about everything he wanted, including the first step in a plan to eliminate Oklahoma’s income tax – a windfall for the state’s deepest pockets.

Tone deaf? Hubris? Either way, it reflected remarkably poor judgment. And likely complicated any Stitt dreams of higher elective office.

With the governor on his way out, the real question now is whether Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, both first-year bosses, are finally hitting their strides.

One barometer to watch: whether they begin leading their respective chambers to claw back power previous Legislatures ceded to governors, starting with Gov. Mary Fallin in 2011.

The state’s Founders, suspicious of too much power in too few hands, knew creating a CEO-like, decider-in-chief governor was a recipe for disaster. That’s why they created a system of checks-and-balances, power wielded by three co-equal branches: executive, legislative and judicial.

When Republicans gained control after a century of Democratic rule, they changed the rules, ultimately giving the governor the authority to hire-and-fire major agency leaders and board members.

The power-shift didn’t create significant issues under Fallin, a former state legislator, lieutenant governor and U.S. representative who knew how government worked best. But it did under Stitt, a private sector CEO who rarely voted before being elected governor.

He might have received a pass from an otherwise obeisant Republican legislative supermajority had he not overplayed his hand at session’s end, releasing a statement attacking Sen. Paul Rosino, Rosino’s wife and House Majority Floor Leader Josh West, and a video threatening to help GOP primary challengers to incumbents who didn’t vote his way.

“Uncalled for and very disappointing,” said Paxton, specifically citing the aspersions cast on Rosino and his wife. Hilbert decried the video as “out of bounds.”

The governor later apologized to Rosino and his wife but the legislative blowback was historic – 47 veto overrides and the firing of Stitt’s handpicked Mental Health commissioner, Allie Friesen.

In zoology, elephants are renowned for long memories. In politics? Who knows? If they are, Stitt could be the lamest of ducks next year.