U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn hasn't officially endorsed any of the seven Republicans seeking to replace him, but he is criticizing an attack ad against James Lankford, one of the leading candidates.
In a statement issued Thursday, Coburn criticized the ads by independent groups like the Senate Conservatives Fund and Oklahomans for a Conservative Future that support GOP challenger T.W. Shannon. Coburn said the ads "aren't truthful" and mischaracterize Lankford's record.
"Trust is absolutely paramount in our republic. The great tension in our country today, for Republicans and Democrats, is that voters no longer trust their elected officials to do the right thing. That bond of trust is born during elections, and it is a powerful responsibility,” Coburn said. “As a voter, I believe the conduct of a campaign is a critical test of how a man or woman values this great trust. How someone runs a campaign says a lot about how that person would govern."
The ads criticize Lankford's vote to increase the debt limit and approve a federal budget.
Coburn described Lankford in the statement as a hard worker and a "man of absolute integrity."
“We haven't always agreed but he is one of the most honest, thoughtful and sincere men I have met in my time in Washington,” Coburn said. “He has life experience and a perspective outside the career political bubble by which to make good decisions. He has fought an often lonely battle against the status quo and has dedicated himself to the hard work of oversight of federal agencies.”
A popular Republican with a reputation as a maverick in Washington, Coburn announced in January he was stepping down with two years left on his term.
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