Jackson Lahmeyer #

Introduction #

Jackson Lahmeyer, a Christian nationalist pastor, the founder of Pastors for Trump, and a Republican candidate for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, suspended his campaign on June 17, 2026, the day after he and rival Mark Tedford advanced to a primary runoff. The suspension followed a Daily Mail report alleging that he had sent extramarital, intimate text messages to a former campaign fundraiser who was not his wife. Within minutes of his announcement, President Donald Trump, who had endorsed him in early May, shifted his endorsement to Tedford, making Tedford the presumptive Republican nominee.

Background Information #

Lahmeyer is a Tulsa-area pastor who ran for the U.S. Senate in Oklahoma in 2022 and is described by the Guardian as a Christian nationalist and the founder of Pastors for Trump. The New York Post reports that he co-founded the Pastors for Trump religious leader coalition in 2022, a fact Trump cited in initially backing him, and that he is married with five children.

In 2026, he entered the race for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, which is based in the Tulsa metropolitan area and was vacated by incumbent Republican Kevin Hern, who announced in March he would run for the U.S. Senate. The Republican primary was the largest in the district’s history, with eleven candidates on the ballot. In May, Lahmeyer received an endorsement from President Trump ahead of the primary. In the June 16 primary, Tedford finished first with 23,230 votes (32.2 percent), followed by Lahmeyer with 18,699 votes (25.9 percent), sending both men to an August 25 runoff.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Over the weekend before his suspension, the Daily Mail reported that Lahmeyer had sent intimate text messages to Caitlin Simmons Key, a former Miss Oklahoma USA who had previously served as one of his campaign fundraisers. Per the Daily Mail report, the messages were flirtatious, including one inviting Key to his hotel room, a reference to visiting a strip club around 1 a.m., and a message in which Lahmeyer wrote, “I enjoyed those lips.” Key reportedly replied, “Jackson if u become congressman & if ever got caught u would be headlines,” and pressed Lahmeyer about his marriage, even asking him about a divorce, which he dismissed; in one message she wrote, “U r in love with me and we don’t even have sex.” The New York Post also reported that Lahmeyer’s wife found out about the messages around Mother’s Day and that Key reportedly continued receiving campaign payments after Lahmeyer cut off communication.

In a social media post on Sunday, Lahmeyer described the Daily Mail report as “distorted” but acknowledged sending the messages. “This matter was already dealt with privately between me and my wife, Kendra, through counsel and prayer with God and spiritual advisors,” he wrote. “I own crossing a boundary line through text messaging. I also ended all communication.”

On Wednesday afternoon, June 17, Lahmeyer announced he was suspending his campaign. “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,” his statement read. “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.” He added, “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.”

Just a few minutes before Lahmeyer’s announcement, Trump shifted his endorsement on Truth Social, writing that he greatly appreciated “Jackson Lahmeyer’s hard work under difficult circumstances” and that “he has always been with me, and I will always be with him,” but that “when it comes to the current Congressional race for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, I Will be supporting America First Patriot, Mark Tedford. Mark is Pro-Trump and MAGA all the way!”

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The scandal drew attention for the contrast between Lahmeyer’s public role as a pastor and the reported messages. Key told the Daily Mail, “There’s a real problem with the fact that he’s married and a pastor. There is a responsibility when you are leading people in the name of Christ to hold yourself to a higher standard.”

The political consequences were immediate. Lahmeyer’s withdrawal made Tedford the presumptive Republican nominee, and campaign records list his Trump endorsement as revoked. The suspension came roughly two months after Representatives Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, resigned amid bipartisan uproar over allegations of sexual misconduct, and just over a week after Graham Platner clinched the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in Maine despite an extramarital sexting scandal.

Current Status #

As of late June 2026, Lahmeyer’s campaign remains suspended and he has not announced plans to resume it. Wikipedia’s candidate list records him as having “advanced to runoff, withdrew.” His withdrawal left Tedford as the presumptive Republican nominee to face Democratic nominee John Croisant in the November general election, which is scheduled for November 3, 2026. Tedford is now favored to win the seat.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The episode ended what had been a serious congressional campaign. Lahmeyer finished second in the district’s largest-ever Republican primary, had secured the presidential endorsement, and was positioned for the August runoff before the report of his text messages surfaced and the endorsement was withdrawn. Within days, the allegation — which Lahmeyer did not deny, while disputing how the Daily Mail characterized it — cost him his party’s support and any realistic path to Congress in 2026.

For a figure whose public identity was built on Christian nationalism and political activism, the scandal also carried a personal dimension: Lahmeyer acknowledged in his own statement that he had crossed a boundary through text messaging, and the episode became a cautionary example of how swiftly a private conduct controversy can unravel a political career built on religious and conservative credentials.