{"id":2979,"date":"2026-06-17T20:34:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2979"},"modified":"2026-06-17T20:34:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T20:34:02","slug":"pastors-for-trump-founder-withdraws-from-us-house-race-after-texting-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2979","title":{"rendered":"Pastors for Trump founder withdraws from US House race after texting scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n            Pastors for Trump founder Jackson Lahmeyer on Wednesday announced he was ending his bid for Oklahoma\u2019s 1st Congressional District, one day after he was projected to advance to a runoff for the Republican nomination in the wake of a texting scandal.\n    <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2977\">Georgia Republican legislative leaders reject governor\u2019s call for 2028 redistricting<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cAfter prayerful consideration with my wife, Kendra, and my team over the last twenty four hours, I\u2019ve made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for Congress,\u201d Lahmeyer, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump ahead of Tuesday\u2019s primary, said in a statement. \u201cI do not want to be a distraction to my family, my church, and the great people of Oklahoma\u2019s 1st Congressional District, who deserve a strong conservative voice representing them in Washington.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Lahmeyer\u2019s exit comes after a Daily Mail report alleged the pastor had sent romantic text messages to a woman who is not his wife. After the story ran Sunday, Lahmeyer acknowledged inappropriate behavior but also criticized the outlet and the timing of the story\u2019s publication.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cThis matter was already dealt with privately between me and my wife, Kendra, through counsel and prayer with God and spiritual advisors,\u201d Lahmeyer wrote on X Sunday. \u201cI 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.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The lead pastor of Sheridan Church in Tulsa, Lahmeyer brought together a coalition of pastors to lobby for Trump\u2019s reelection in 2024. The president rewarded his support with an endorsement in May.\n    <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2975\">Thwarted attack on UFC fight is another reason to build White House ballroom, Trump DOJ argues<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            While Trump on Monday reaffirmed his support for Lahmeyer, he pivoted on Wednesday, announcing that he was instead backing his runoff opponent, state lawmaker Mark Tedford.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI greatly appreciate Jackson Lahmeyer\u2019s hard work under difficult circumstances \u2014 He has always been with me, and I will always be with him,\u201d Trump said in a Truth Social post. \u201cBut, when it comes to the current Congressional race for Oklahoma\u2019s 1st Congressional District, I will be supporting America First Patriot, Mark Tedford.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Lahmeyer\u2019s withdrawal from the race leaves an open path to the nomination for Tedford as he vies to succeed GOP Rep. Kevin Hern, who is running for Senate.\n    <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2967\">On Iran, Trump is committing the cardinal sin from the \u2018Art of the Deal\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n<em>CNN\u2019s Maureen Chowdhury and Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report. <\/em>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pastors for Trump founder Jackson Lahmeyer on Wednesday announced he was ending his bid for Oklahoma\u2019s 1st Congressional District, one day after he was projected to advance to a runoff for the Republican nomination in the wake of a texting scandal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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