U.S. Rep. James Lankford on Monday announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. The seat is opening early because Senator Tom Coburn, who is battling cancer, is resigning at the end of the current congressional session.
Lankford’s first pitch for the higher office focused as much on the federal government’s failings as his congressional accomplishments.
At the History Center in Oklahoma City, Lankford said a senate seat would give him a bigger staff and wider latitude to reign in the federal government’s runaway debt, spending and waste, and job-killing regulatory oversight.
“These are the issues that matter to everyday Oklahomans," Lankford said. "More freedom, and less hassle from a government that is constitutionally mandated to be out of our lives.”
Several other Oklahoma politicians are also said to be considering a run at the senate seat, including state House Speaker T.W. Shannon and U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine.
A short list of potential candidates for Lankford’s vacated U.S. House seat includes State Sen. Clark Jolley and Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Patrice Douglas. The primary is set for June 24.
