Jackson Lahmeyer, a pastor who supports Israel and believes the Antichrist will be Jewish, drew enough votes Tuesday to force a runoff in his district’s Oklahoma congressional primary.
But on Wednesday, Lahmeyer announced that he was suspending his campaign “after prayerful consideration,” saying that he did “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.”
Lahmeyer had been seen as a favorite in the crowded race after earning US President Donald Trump’s coveted endorsement, but his star fell in the days before the primary amid revelations that he had exchanged text messages with a former Miss Oklahoma.
He said he had “crossed a boundary,” but said the episode was a private matter and in the past, and Trump reaffirmed his endorsement following the revelation. On Wednesday, Trump rescinded his endorsement.
Lahmeyer’s exit clears a path for Mark Tedford, a member of the state House of Representatives from Tulsa, to be elected in November. The district is solidly red, virtually assuring the Republican candidate of victory.
GOP, MAGA divided on many lines: Israel, tradition, Christianity
The runoff would have pitted candidates with two very different approaches to politics and Israel against each other at a time when the Republican Party is divided on multiple lines.
Lahmeyer is part of Trump’s MAGA movement, while Tedford is a more traditional conservative. Both men promote a hard line on immigration, but Lahmeyer’s rhetoric has been peppered with incendiary claims about efforts by Muslims to establish “sharia law” in the United States.
While both competitors are also evangelical Christians with training in ministry, Lahmeyer works as a pastor and preaches an end-times theology that includes an Antichrist with Jewish heritage. Lahmeyer is also a vocal supporter of Israel, in keeping with his Christian Nationalist outlook, while Tedford has made few, if any, public comments about Israel or the war in Gaza.
The two candidates pulled far ahead of the pack in Tuesday’s crowded primary, which attracted 11 candidates to fill an open seat. Tedford received 32.1% of the votes, and Lahmeyer drew 25.9%, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board.
MAGA leads the GOP, victory requires a Trump endorsement
Few, if any, of the eight candidates who did not make the runoff were part of the MAGA movement, suggesting that Lahmeyer’s path to a runoff victory would have been challenging.
“We need everyone who came out today to keep fighting until we succeed,” Lahmeyer said in a statement to local media late Tuesday. “Let’s send a Trump-endorsed warrior to fight for Oklahoma values in Congress.”
The Democratic candidate, John Croisant, is a Tulsa school board member who has not spoken publicly about Israel or Gaza, issues that are occupying some Democrats.
This story has been updated since publication to reflect Lahmeyer’s decision to suspend his campaign.
