Jackson Lahmeyer, the Christian nationalist pastor who had won former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the Republican primary for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, announced Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign. The decision came after a report by the Daily Mail that he had sent intimate text messages to a former campaign fundraiser who had previously won the Miss Oklahoma USA beauty pageant.
Lahmeyer, 38, is the founder of Pastors for Trump and served as a youth pastor before becoming a prominent figure in Christian nationalist political organizing. He had advanced to a June runoff election against fellow Republican Mark Tedford after the May primary, positioning the race as a contest to succeed Rep. Kevin Hern, who vacated the seat to run for the U.S. Senate.
“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 wrote in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “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.”
The Daily Mail reported over the weekend that Lahmeyer had exchanged inappropriate text messages with a woman who had worked as a fundraiser for his campaign and who had previously been crowned Miss Oklahoma USA. In a social media post Sunday, Lahmeyer acknowledged sending the messages and described the report as “distorted.”
“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. The British tabloid tried to paint me out in a way which is not the case.”
Trump had endorsed Lahmeyer in early May. On Wednesday afternoon, just minutes before Lahmeyer’s suspension announcement, the former president posted on Truth Social that he would now support Tedford. Trump said he 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, Trump added, “when it comes to the current … race for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, I will be supporting America First Patriot, Mark Tedford.”
Lahmeyer’s withdrawal came about two months after two sitting members of Congress — Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican — resigned amid bipartisan uproar over allegations of sexual misconduct against both. Swalwell also withdrew from California’s gubernatorial race; Gonzales had acknowledged an affair with an aide who later died by suicide. The overlapping timing of the three scandals has drawn attention to the frequency with which such allegations have upended campaigns in the 2026 election cycle.