Stacy Martin and Patrick B. McGuigan
The City Sentinel
Oklahoma City – U.S. Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma has built an impressive campaign “war chest” for his reelection drive – enhanced by supporters and donors in all 77 counties.
The pro-life Susan B. Anthony list has endorsed Sen. Lankford for reelection in 2023. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national organization, will visit Oklahoma City on Thursday for what the national organization calls “a celebration of life as we congratulate Senator James Lankford for his tireless work in Washington to protect the unborn.”
Endorsements are only part of the story in any election, but the Oklahoma Republican is writing a strong preface for any narratives of his 2023 campaign for reelection.
Dannenfelser served in 2023 as national co-chair of the Pro-Life Voices for Trump coalition, reprising her leadership in the same capacity during the 2016 campaign. She has been named one of Politico Magazine’s Top 50 Influencers. Additionally she is a top ten “Political Women on the Move” in the Washington Examiner’s listing. Similarly she is pegged in Newsmax’s top 25 “Most Influential Republican Women”, and Newsweek’s top ten “Leaders of the Christian Right.”
Lankford’s broad national support underscores strength among Oklahoma’s elected Republicans.
As his efforts ramp up, Lankford has support from Republican elected officials in every corner of the state, and across the wide range of elective offices at the state Capitol and within the congressional delegation.
If money is truly the proverbial “Mother’s Milk of Politics,” observers should note his strong check-book balance, according to official reports from Families for James Lankford (https://www.city-sentinel.com/?s=bringing+in+the+sheaves).
An Oklahoma Republican “”Who’s Who” list for Lankford
As for endorsements, the incumbent has the backing of both Governor Kevin Stitt and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell.
Other statewide elected officials in Lankford’s corner include Corporation Commissioners Dana Murphy, Bob Anthony and Todd Hiett.
Affirming their backing this summer were School Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn, Insurance Commisisoner Glen Mulready and Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd.
Despite differences in emphasis with some of the other members of the state delegation, Lankford has the strong backing of all his state colleagues in D.C., including senior Senator Jim Inhofe and U.S. Reps. Frank Lucas, Tom Cole, Markwayne Mullin, and Stephanie Bice, U.S. Representative.
At the state Capitol, Lankford has the backing of Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat of Oklahoma City and Speaker of the House Charles McCall of Atoka.
Others in the upper chamber who are on record wanting another six-year term for Lankford include Senators Mark Allen of Spiro, Micheal Bergstrom of Adair, Bill Coleman of Ponca City, Julie Daniels of Bartlesville, Kim David, of Porter, Tom Dugger of Stillwater, Chuck Hall of Perry, John Haste of Broken Arrow, Brent Howard of Altus, Darcy Jech of Kingfisher, Shane Jett of Oklahoma City, Chris Kidd of Waurika, Greg McCortney of Ada, John Michael Montgomery of Lawton, Casey Murdock of Felt, Roland Pederson of Burlington, Dewayne Pemberton of Muskogee, Adam Pugh of Edmond, Marty Quinn of Claremore, Dave Rader of Tulsa, Cody Rogers of Tulsa, Paul Rosino of Oklahoma City, Frank Simpson of Springer, Brenda Stanley of Midwest City, Zack Taylor, of Seminole, Roger Thompson of Okemah, and Darrell Weaver of Moore.
In the House of Representatives, the backing of Speaker McCall is enhanced with the endorsements of Rhonda Baker of Yukon, Jeff Boatman of Tulsa, Brad Boles of Marlow, Ty Burns of Pawnee, Chad Caldwell of Enid, Trey Caldwell of Lawton, Eddy Dempsey of Valliant, Sheila Dills of Tulsa, Mike Dobrinski of Okeene, Jon Echols of Oklahoma City, Scott Fetgatter of Okmulgee, Avery Frix of Muskogee, Toni Hasenbeck of Elgin, Kyle Hilbert of Bristow, J.J. Humphrey of Lanke, Chris Kannady of Oklahoma City, Gerrid Kendrix of Altus and Dell Kerbs of Shawnee.
Also in the Lankford column are Representatives Mark Lawson of Sapulpa, Mark Lepak of Claremore, Robert Manger of Oklahoma City, Ryan Martinez of Edmond, Stan May of Broken Arrow, Mark McBride of Moore, Nicole Miller of Edmond, Garry Mize of Guthrie, Anthony Moore of Clinton, Carl Newton of Cherokee, Jadine Nollan of Sand Springs, Terry O’Donnell of Catoosa, Mike Osburn of Edmond, Daniel Pae of Lawton, Kenton Patzkowsk of Balko, Logan Phillips of Mounds, Dustin Roberts of Durant, Todd Russ of Cordell, Marilyn Stark of Bethany, Danny Sterling of Tecumseh, Preston Stinson of Edmond, Judd Strom of Copan, Tammy Townley of Ardmore, Josh West of Grove, and Tammy West of Oklahoma City.
Matters of State highlighted Pompeo Visit
As noted in earlier online coverage and in the September 2023 print edition of The City Sentinel, U.S. Senator James Lankford played the part of reporter at an August campaign stop at Oklahoma Christian University. He guided former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in discussions of the war in Afghanistan, Communist China, North Korean Chairman Kim Jung-un, Venezuela, the Trump Administration, the Biden Administration, Oil and gas.
The topic of faith was never far from either man’s mind.
Pompeo said he always prayed in the elevator on the way up to his office.
“I am an evangelical Christian,” Lankford said at the August event.
“I was born again and received the forgiveness of Jesus Christ for my many sins,” he said, adding that he and Pompeo are both supporters of the Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom.
Regarding foreign affairs, both men blistered the Biden’s administration’s handling of the troop pullout in Afghanistan was incorrectly handled by the Biden administration.
Pompeo characterized mainland China’s policies toward the U.S. as aggressive.
“The Communist party in China believes this is a nation in decline and that we have a weak president,” Pompeo said. He stressed, ““I worry about China more than any other place. They believe deeply in the Communist theories and they believe they can walk all over the United States.”
Pompeo’s Oklahoma visit to boost Lankford included a morning stop at the University of Tulsa.
Sketching Lankford’s electoral successes
Oklahoma’s junior senator, Lankford is seeking reelection to a second six-year term in the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress. Pompeo’s stops with the incumbent in the state’s two largest cities came a month after he formally endorsed his reelection.
Lankford has been a force in Oklahoma politics for 11 years. He ran for the Fifth District congressional seat in 2010, leading the primary narrowly against a field of experienced politicians., and going on to win the GOP nomination and the general election comfortably. He served two terms in the U.S. House.
When U.S. Senator Tom Coburn resigned for health reasons in 2014, Lankford ran to fill the last two years of Coburn’s term. He garnered the GOP nomination easily, winning the primary easily over a large field, then winning the general election with more than two-thirds of the popular vote.
In 2016, Lankford again prevailed easily to garner a full six-year term.
Last month, Lankford scored a victory important to his pro-life base of support, gaining 50-49 Senate passage of an amendment (during the budget debate) to preserve the four-decades old Hyde Amendment in federal law.
President Joe Biden abandoned his support for the Hyde Amendment – which forbides the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for most abortion procedures – during the 2023 election campaign.
After his Hyde Amendment victory in the Senate, Lankford said in a statement sent to The City Sentinel and other news organizations, ““We should all be able to agree – no American should be forced to pay for an abortion through taxpayer dollars. Just because a child is inside the womb does not mean they should be treated any differently by law. My amendment restates the long-term agreement that no taxpayer dollars fund an abortion, and no American should be punished for refusing to participate in an abortion. That should not be controversial.”
Lankford has secured a reputation for conservative policy advocacy on questions of the national debt and overall spending, sustaining of Second amendment rights to keep and bear arms, and other issues.
More than $1.6 million in cash on hand
As reported in July’s story “bringing in the sheaves,” Lankford has proven his campaign fundraising ability, reaching a total of $1,628,207.73 in case on hand.
He has endorsements form 80 state leaders, every statewide elected official in Oklahoma and from former NASA administrator James Bidenstine. In addition to Pompeo, he is supported by each of his colleagues in the Oklahoma congressional delegation, as well as by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Note: Stacy Martin, managing editor for The City Sentinel newspaper, covered Lankford’s event with Pompeo. Pat McGuigan, editorial director for the newspaper, gathered the endorsement information from online sources.
