AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.The pastor, Jackson Lahmeyer, dropped out of the race for a House seat in Oklahoma as President Trump backed Mr.
Lahmeyer’s Republican rival in a runoff election.Listen · 4:02 min Jackson Lahmeyer, left, and Mark Tedford had advanced to a Republican primary runoff election on Tuesday, but Mr. Lahmeyer ended his bid on Wednesday. Credit...Michael Noble Jr. for The New York Times; Tedford for U.S.
CongressJune 17, 2026, 3:14 p.m. ETPresident Trump rescinded his endorsement of a right-wing pastor for a House seat in Oklahoma on Wednesday after a texting scandal shook up the Republican primary, throwing his weight behind the pastor’s opponent the day after both candidates advanced to a runoff.Minutes later, the pastor, Jackson Lahmeyer, withdrew from the race.“I do not want to be a distraction to my family, my church, and the great people of Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, who deserve a strong conservative voice representing them in Washington,” Mr.
Lahmeyer wrote on social media.The switch-up makes State Representative Mark Tedford the presumptive Republican nominee, putting him in a strong position to win the general election. Anchored in Tulsa, the district is considered solidly red, with voters there electing Mr.
Trump by 21 percentage points in 2024.Mr. Lahmeyer leads a Tulsa church with his wife. But the image he cultivated as a religious leader took a hit on Sunday when The Daily Mail published intimate texts between him and a woman who is not his wife, in which he called her “cute” and floated an invitation to his hotel room.
In a Facebook post on Sunday night, he acknowledged sending the messages but contended that his communications had been “carefully cherry-picked to create an impression that is not accurate.”“I own crossing a boundary line through text messaging,” Mr. Lahmeyer wrote. “I also ended all communication.”Mr.
Tedford is seeking to succeed Representative Kevin Hern, a Republican who is running for the Senate seat vacated by Markwayne Mullin, who is now the homeland security secretary.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?
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