Trump withdraws support from married Okla. pastor caught in texting scandal

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Thursday, June 18, 2026

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he's no longer supporting married Sheridan.Church pastor, Rev. Jackson Lahmeyer, as the Republican candidate for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, as he continues to face backlash over inappropriate texting a woman outside his marriage.

“I greatly appreciate Jackson Lahmeyer’s hard work under difficult circumstances — He has always been with me, and I will always be with him. But, when it comes to the current Congressional race for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, I will be supporting America First Patriot, Mark Tedford,” President Trump announced on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon.

President Trump’s announcement comes a day after Rep. Mark Tedford, R-Tulsa, led a crowded field of candidates in the Republican primary for Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District on Tuesday with 32.2% of the votes. Lahmeyer trailed in second place with 25.8% of the votes and was expected to advance in a runoff election with Tedford.

Minutes after Trump’s announcement on Wednesday, however, Lahmeyer, 34, released a statement announcing his withdrawal from the race, allowing Tedford to advance as the Republican nominee 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 in a statement cited by NBC News. “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.”

The megachurch pastor, who has suspended several of his social media accounts, admitted to the inappropriate texting on Sunday, two days after the Daily Mail published text messages between him and former campaign staffer, Caitlin Simmons Key, who is also a former Miss Oklahoma USA.

“Today, 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,” Lahmeyer, who had touted his previous endorsement by President Donald Trump, wrote in a statement on Facebook Sunday.

The father of five who launched Pastors for Trump in 2022 to mobilize faith-based voters and advocate for President Trump’s "America First" agenda, said his wife, Kendra, may have more to say, while his opponents might try to “make more of this than it is.”

President Trump, who endorsed Lahmeyer’s candidacy in May, had reiterated that support on Truth Social on Monday. It's unclear what changed to force his backing away from Lahmeyer on Wednesday.

In the text messages between Lahmeyer and Key, the Daily Mail shows him inviting the divorced 40-year-old single mother to his hotel room. He also discloses a time when he left Mar-a-Lago to visit a strip club at 1 a.m. and declined an offer of cocaine.

He stated in that text that he was traveling with a group that included Craig Hagin, the former co-pastor of Rhema Bible Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who was recently fired by his father, Senior Pastor Kenneth W. Hagin, for conduct inconsistent with ministry leadership.

Key told the Daily Mail that she was uncomfortable with the hypocrisy of Lahmeyer’s private pursuit of her while he preaches family values and seeks high office.

“There's a real problem with the fact that he's married and a pastor,” she told the publication. “There is a responsibility when you are leading people in the name of Christ to hold yourself to a higher standard.”