Donald Trump endorses Jackson Lahmeyer in key Oklahoma primary race – The Oklahoman
President Donald Trump is supporting a prominent Tulsa pastor in the highly contested race to represent Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District.
Trump endorsed Jackson Lahmeyer over 10 other Republican candidates. In a state where Oklahomans have voted for the president in every county in each of Trump’s three bids for commander in chief, Trump’s endorsement can make a campaign.
“It’s the honor of a lifetime to have the endorsement of President Trump, who I’ve always said is the best president in my lifetime,” Lahmeyer said.
Lahmeyer is seeking to replace current U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern, who is running for the state’s open U.S. Senate position.
“This catapults us into the position to win,” Lahmeyer said about the endorsement, which Trump made in a Truth Social post on Thursday, March 7.
Even before the official endorsement, political insiders suspected Trump would endorse Lahmeyer. Lahmeyer is associated with Rudy Giuliani and others in Trump’s circle, and the president’s sons Eric and Donald Jr. have attended Sheridan Church, where Lahmeyer preaches, multiple times.
Experts have aligned Lahmeyer with the growing Christian Nationalist movement. He has voiced a desire to insert Christianity into areas of government, including schools.
Lahmeyer was unsuccessful in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. James Lankford in 2022, but he said that he has been building on that momentum in the meantime.
“You know when the president makes an endorsement, he doesn’t lose,” Lahmeyer said, before pointing to Trump’s record in May 5 Indiana primaries, when nearly all of his picks won.
Trump singled out Lahmeyer as a “MAGA warrior” who founded Pastors For Trump.
“Jackson Lahmeyer has my complete and total endorsement to be the next representative from Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump said in the Truth Social post.
Lahmeyer described his priorities as America-first and Oklahoma-first. He said keeping the nation’s border secure is important to him, as well as ensuring the Chinese Communist Party does not own Oklahoma farmland. The news outlet Investigate Midwest found that renewable energy companies from Canada and Europe own a majority of the foreign-owned farmland in the state.
Lahmeyer has not yet reported any campaign donations to the Federal Election Commission. He said in March that he had raised more than $100,000 for the race, without disclosing the identities of his donors.
On Friday, May 8, he launched an ad touting Trump’s endorsement of his campaign.
Kim David, the chairwoman of the state Corporation Commission, and Rep. Mark Tedford, R-Tulsa, are other influential candidates competing against Lahmeyer for the seat.
In light of the president’s endorsement of Lahmeyer, Tedford said nothing about his campaign had changed.
“This campaign has always been about fighting for Oklahoma families, workers and businesses, and that mission continues with the same energy and determination as ever,” Tedford said in a statement.
David responded to Trump’s endorsement of Lahmeyer in a post on X, saying she respected the president but would keep working to earn the trust of voters.
“Outside voices don’t decide Oklahoma elections,” she said. “The people of Oklahoma do.”
(This story was updated to add new information.)