Jackson Lahmeyer has announced he’s dropping out of the race for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District.
“After prayerful consideration with my wife, Kendra, and my team over the last twenty-four hours, I’ve made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for Congress,” Lahmeyer said.
Lahmeyer went on to say, “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.
I sincerely appreciate all the support along the way. I will never forget those who stood by me and fought alongside us when I needed them the most.”
Lahmeyer and Mark Tedford secured the most votes in the June 16 GOP primary, which would have prompted a runoff on Aug. 25. Now that Lahmeyer is suspending his campaign, Tedford will advance to the general election.
Lahmeyer is a pastor, businessman, and founder of Pastors for Trump, a coalition of faith leaders who support the president.
He previously ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and received an endorsement from President Trump earlier this year. However, President Trump dropped his endorsement of Lahmeyer on Wednesday and threw his support behind Tedford.
The news comes days after Lahmeyer publicly defended himself after reports surfaced of inappropriate text messages between him and a woman who is not his wife.
Those text messages were first reported by the British tabloid The Daily Mail, but they were also sent independently to News On 6 on June 12.
The messages show Lahmeyer and the woman engaging in multiple conversations. In the text messages sent to News On 6, Lahmeyer complimented her body, sent selfies, and said he wanted to see her in person.
After the story broke in The Daily Mail, Lahmeyer posted on both X and Facebook that “a distorted story from a British tabloid was released just two days before my election. This matter was already dealt with privately between me and my wife, Kendra, through counsel and prayer with God and spiritual advisors. I own crossing a boundary line through text messaging.”
On Tuesday, June 16, Lahmeyer said he was not “a perfect man” and had a lot to address in the coming days but looked forward to the opportunity to potentially become the next congressman for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District.
Mark Tedford is now the Republican nominee and will face Democratic candidate John Croisant in November.
