Jackson Lahmeyer withdraws from Oklahoma GOP House runoff after reports of inappropriate texts
Trump reversed his endorsement after text-message reports, and Lahmeyer said he was suspending his campaign as Tedford became the presumptive nominee.
- On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, Tulsa-area pastor Jackson Lahmeyer suspended his campaign for Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District one day after advancing to a Republican primary runoff.
- Lahmeyer's withdrawal followed a Daily Mail report publishing text messages between the pastor and Caitlin Key, a former Miss Oklahoma USA. He admitted to 'crossing a boundary line through text messaging' but criticized the report's timing.
- President Donald Trump rescinded his endorsement of Lahmeyer on Wednesday, announcing he would instead support state lawmaker Mark Tedford. Trump declared Tedford "a pro-Trump and MAGA all the way!"
- Lahmeyer's exit leaves Tedford as the Republican nominee for the solid-red district currently represented by Congressman Kevin Hern. House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed Tedford in a joint statement with GOP leadership.
- The Tulsa-anchored seat opened after Hern declared his candidacy for the vacant Senate seat earlier this year. Rated solid red by the Cook Political Report, the district positions Tedford for likely victory in November.
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86 Articles
Trump-Endorsed Congressional Candidate Drops Out Over Text Message Scandal
Source: Jackson Lahmeyer For U.S. Congress / other Jackson Lahmeyer, a Trump-endorsed Congressional candidate, has suspended his campaign after it was revealed he had been sending romantic text messages to a woman who wasn’t his wife. A Republican pastor engaged in infidelity?? I’m shocked, I tell you. Stunned. The Washington Post reports that on Tuesday, Lahmeyer, a megachurch minister who founded Pastors for Trump, advanced to a runoff elect…
Jackson Lahmeyer suspended his campaign in Oklahoma after a controversy over text messages that shook his candidacy
Pastors for Trump Founder Quits Congressional Race After Former Staffer's 'You Would Be Headlines' Text Came True
A prophecy that a former campaign staffer once tapped into a text message has come true, with Pastors for Trump founder Jackson Lahmeyer abandoning his Oklahoma congressional bid after leaked intimate messages stripped him of his front-runner status and, within hours, Donald Trump's endorsement. Lahmeyer, the lead pastor of Tulsa's Sheridan Church and a married father of five, suspended his campaign for Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District on 1…
Trump-backed pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, who says Antichrist will be Jewish, drops from GOP race
Previously the favorite in the crowded race after earning Trump's endorsement, his campaign has been suspended following revelations that he exchanged text messages with a former Miss Oklahoma.
Straight Arrow News
ussanews.comTexting scandal derails ‘Pastors for Trump’ founder as Trump pulls support
President Donald Trump withdrew his endorsement of Oklahoma congressional candidate Jackson Lahmeyer on Wednesday, and minutes later the Tulsa pastor suspended his campaign after a texting scandal upended the Republican primary. The move leaves state Rep. Mark Tedford as the clear favorite to become the Republican nominee in the state’s heavily Republican 1st Congressional District. Texting controversy derails campaign A Daily Mail report publis…
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