Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced his support for Republican James Lankford for reelection to the U.S. Senate in Oklahoma.
Lankford, who took over for Republican Tom Coburn after his resignation in 2015, faced a primary challenger in 2022. He beat Jackson Lahmeyer by a 41-point margin in the June race and will now face Democrat Madison Horn in the general election.
"Senator James Lankford ran a strong Campaign against highly credible opponents who fought hard but, ultimately, were unsuccessful," Trump said of Lahmeyer and another primary opponent Joan Farr, who received less than 6% of the vote.
"James was strongly committed to America First, and everything it stood for, and likewise strongly committed to me, as president. Sometimes we didn't exactly agree on everything, but we do now," he added.
Trump and the Oklahoma incumbent had butted heads several times while the former president was in office, most notably when Lankford declared that Joe Biden was "the constitutional president" and voted to certify the 2020 election results.
Still, Lankford's voting record aligned with Trump nearly 90% of the time while he was in office. That fact, and his vote to acquit Trump during his second removal trial, appear to have mended the relationship.
"James Lankford is Strong on the Border, Tough on Crime, and Very Smart on the Economy," the former president wrote. "He is fighting to Stop Inflation, Defend our under siege Second Amendment, and Restore American Energy Independence, just as we had it during the Trump Administration where we would soon be, in fact, Energy Dominant.
"Sadly, that went up in dust with the Biden Administration — but James will help us get it back," he continued. "It is my great honor to give James Lankford my Complete and Total Endorsement!"
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