As of 2014[update], Keating is one of only five governors in Oklahoma history, in addition to George Nigh, Brad Henry, Mary Fallin, and Kevin Stitt to hold consecutive terms and the first Republican to accomplish that feat.

Keating attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. where he was president of the college student body, an editor of The Hoya, and a member of the Philodemic Debating Society,[5] receiving his Bachelor of Arts in history, in 1966.

[7] He gave up that post in 1983[8] to run for Congress in Oklahoma's 1st congressional district and ran a competitive race which fell short of defeating Democratic Congressman and House Budget Committee chairman James R. Jones, who won re-election with 52 percent of the vote even though Republican President Reagan carried the district.

Shortly after Reagan was sworn in for his second term, he appointed Keating to serve as an assistant secretary of the Treasury and later elevated him to associate attorney general, the third ranking official within the U.S. Department of Justice.

Late in the Reagan Administration, Keating continued to serve in the Justice Department in his role as associate attorney general.

President Bill Clinton chose not to renominate Keating, instead nominating former Oklahoma Attorney General Robert Harlan Henry, who was subsequently confirmed.

In a three-way race against Democratic nominee Jack Mildren and independent Wes Watkins, Keating was elected with just under 47 percent of the vote.

Keating faced Democratic nominee Laura Boyd, the first woman to receive a major party's nomination for Oklahoma Governor, in his 1998 re-election campaign.

Keating won in a landslide victory, the second of five Governors in Oklahoma history to win two consecutive terms (after George Nigh) and preceding Democrat Brad Henry.

The blast destroyed or damaged more than 300 buildings in the surrounding area, leaving several hundred people homeless and shutting down business.

The national focus climaxed on April 23, when President Bill Clinton, along with Governor Keating and the Reverend Billy Graham, spoke in Oklahoma City.

Governor Keating set out with an agenda for the state under his administration, with many of his initiatives passed, despite an often hostile Democratic controlled Legislature.

These included education reform, environmental protection, tax relief, road building, economic development, public safety, and tougher law enforcement.

Keating appointed a special task force that created tougher regulations on Oklahoma's hog and poultry industries.

He increased spending for common, vo-tech, and higher education facilities throughout the state and introduced charter schools to Oklahoma for the first time.

Keating struggled to get workers' compensation reform and right to work laws enacted due to the political makeup of the Oklahoma Legislature.

Keating signed a major criminal justice bill that reformed Truth in Sentencing law in Oklahoma.

Keating addressed the problems faced in Oklahoma's Tar Creek Superfund site by appointing a task force on the issue.

Among Keating's other accomplishments; overseeing the largest road construction project in Oklahoma history and leading his state through devastating tornadoes in 1999.

As a crowning achievement, Keating raised more than $20 million in private money towards completion of the Oklahoma State Capitol with a dome.

In 2001, Cathy Keating was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination to one of Oklahoma's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives being vacated by Steve Largent.

[14] On December 20, 2006, Keating visited Columbia, South Carolina, where he spoke to a group of GOP supporters about a possible 2008 Presidential bid.

Keating served as a member of the Debt Reduction Task Force and Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

[23] In April 2017, Keating created a one-minute video regretting his support for wind energy while Oklahoma governor.