Broken Arrow Republican State Senator Nathan Dahm will challenge current Oklahoma Republican U.S. Senator James Lankford in the upcoming 2022 U.S. Senate Republican primary.
Broken Arrow Republican State Senator Nathan Dahm will challenge current Oklahoma Republican U.S. Senator James Lankford in the upcoming 2022 U.S. Senate Republican primary.
Dahm, who is term-limited from seeking another four years in the state legislature, launched his website Tuesday morning, and he is expected to hold his first campaign event where he will officially announce his candidacy in Broken Arrow Tuesday afternoon.
The themes presented on Dahm’s website as central to his new campaign are a continuation of former President Donald Trump’s themes “Make America Great Again” and “America First.” The site also calls out incumbent James Lankford for dropping his challenge to the certification of the 2020 election results in Congress on January 6th.
Lankford initially opposed the certification of the results from certain states when Congress was tallying the Electoral College vote, but after rioters stormed and damaged the U.S. Capitol building in an attempt to delay the certification, Lankford dropped his opposition saying the stances he and other Republican senators were taking in their opposition had been tainted by the events of the day.
Dahm’s website accuses Lankford of being a RINO (Republican In Name Only) by not doing more to stand up for Trump by opposing the certification of now President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ win.
The state senator also brings up hot topics such as stopping critical race theory from being taught in public schools and advocating for the arrest of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci for having an alleged role in the creation of the COVID-19 virus and his handling of the current pandemic.
Dahm is not the first challenger to Lankford. Tulsa Pastor Jackson Lahmeyer announced earlier this year he would challenge Lankford for what he considered non-conservative behavior on Capitol Hill not just on January 6th but also throughout the Trump Administration.
Lahmeyer kicked off his campaign with the endorsement of former Trump National Security Advisor and Retired General Michael Flynn at Lahmeyer’s church on Sheridan near East 41st Street.
FOX23 News asked Lankford last month about accusations from opponents that he is a “RINO”, and he told FOX23 people can say whatever they want, his voting record says otherwise and so do members of the Trump Administration. Lankford brought in former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month for two campaign stops, one in Tulsa and the other in Edmond (OKC metro), after Pompeo endorsed Lankford for another term.
What could be make or break any of the contenders is the formal endorsement of former President Trump, who all three men are claiming they are big, proven supporters of, and they will likely actively seek a public endorsement that can be run on TV, social media, and on their campaign websites.
With the addition of a third contender, the Oklahoma U.S. Senate Republican Primary is expected to be far more contested and even possibly more expensive than the general election race between a Republican, a Democrat, a Libertarian, and any other Independents because of Oklahoma’s recent voting patterns giving Republican gains in multiple statewide offices and in the state legislature and all 77 counties voting for Trump in the 2020 general election.
