President Trump rescinded his endorsement of a right-wing pastor for a House seat in Oklahoma on Wednesday after a texting scandal shook up the Republican primary, throwing his weight behind the pastor’s opponent the day after both candidates advanced to a runoff.
Minutes later, the pastor, Jackson Lahmeyer, withdrew from the race.
“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,” Mr. Lahmeyer wrote on social media.
The switch-up makes State Representative Mark Tedford the presumptive Republican nominee, putting him in a strong position to win the general election. Anchored in Tulsa, the district is considered solidly red, with voters there electing Mr. Trump by 21 percentage points in 2024.
