Republican Oklahoma State Senator Joins Lankford Challengers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Republican state senator from Broken Arrow said Tuesday that he would run for the GOP nomination against incumbent U.S. Sen. James Lankford.

Nathan Dahm announced in a Twitter video that he was joining the Republican primary U.S. Senate race that already included Tulsa pastor Jackson Lahmeyer.

Dahm praised former President Donald Trump and said in the video that the media, RINOS (Republicans In Name Only), and what he called “the far left” oppose those who support Trump.

“They want Trump Republicans like me to just stay quiet and roll over,” Dahm said.

Lankford’s office did not immediately return requests for comment.

Lahmeyer has criticized Lankford for not supporting Trump’s false claims about the presidential election outcome. On Tuesday, he said Dahm’s candidacy is an effort to divide the votes of Lankford’s opponents.

“The Washington political establishment is so upset by my insurgent challenge to U.S. Senator James Lankford … that they have resorted to a classic ‘dirty trick’ and put a third ‘spoiler’ candidate in the race,” Lahmeyer said.

Dahm, a state senator since 2012, previously lost in the 2010 and 2018 Republican primaries for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District seat.