Trump-backed Oklahoma House candidate Jackson Lahmeyer suspended his bid Wednesday minutes after the president flipped his endorsement in the race, after the Tulsa pastor admitted to “crossing a boundary line” in texting a woman who is not his wife.
“I greatly appreciate Jackson Lahmeyer’s hard work under difficult circumstances — He has always been with me, and I will always be with him,” Trump wrote in a social media post in which he threw his support behind Lahmeyer’s opponent, state Rep. Mark Tedford.
On Sunday, The Daily Mail published text messages Lahmeyer exchanged with a former Miss Oklahoma pageant winner. Lahmeyer said the texts were misrepresented by the publication but acknowledged “crossing a boundary” with the messages.
In announcing the end of his campaign, Lahmeyer said he didn’t want to be “a distraction to my family, my church, and the great people of Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District.”
Lahmeyer’s decision to drop out of the race grants Tedford a victory in the primary a day after both candidates advanced to a runoff. Tedford received 32 percent of the vote, edging out Lahmeyer’s 25 percent but falling short of the majority vote needed to advance directly to the general election.
Tedford is heavily favored to win the deep-red district and succeed Rep. Kevin Hern, who is running for Senate.
Lahmeyer’s suspended campaign marks another Trump-backed candidate who failed to win their race. On Tuesday, Georgia businessperson Rick Jackson defeated Trump’s choice for Georgia governor, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. Earlier this month, Trump’s choice for Iowa governor, Rep. Randy Feenstra, lost in a primary to businessperson Zach Lahn.
Trump had reiterated his support for Lahmeyer as recently as Monday, praising the “MAGA Warrior” and citing his work founding the Pastors for Trump faith leader alliance in 2022.
Tedford labeled himself a “coalition candidate” who could connect multiple factions of the GOP and had the backing of state House Speaker Kyle Hilbert and other members of the Legislature. He also had a cash advantage over Lahmeyer in the latest campaign finance reports, in large part because he self-funded to the tune of $600,000.
Andrew Howard contributed to this report.
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