As 11 Republicans campaign to be the party's candidate for one of Oklahoma's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, OKGOP Chairperson Charity Linch has thrown her support behind one of them.
In a letter to President Trump dated April 7, Linch endorsed Tulsa pastor Jackson Lahmeyer for the job.
"We must continue to champion liberty and faith," she wrote. "Jackson Lahmeyer embodies both."
When Lahmeyer shared Linch's endorsement letter on social media on Wednesday, she reposted it, saying she was "absolutely honored."
But four of Linch's predecessors have decried the move, saying it goes against party customs. A.J. Ferate, Pam Pollard, Nathan Dahm and Gary Jones signed a statement asking Linch to rescind her endorsement or resign. Ferate shared it on social media Thursday morning.
"It has been a decades-long custom for sitting Oklahoma Republican Party Chairs to stay out of open seat primary races and let the voters determine the Republican nominee," the former party leaders said in the statement. "While none of the undersigned completely agree on policy or leadership of the Party, we are united in our request that Ms. Linch withdraw her endorsement of Lahmeyer, or resign."
"Oklahoma's a very populist state," Ferate said in an interview. "We're a lot of independent thinkers. So for the chairman to try to stick their thumb on the scale in this situation and try to make the decision for the voters is really kind of disingenuous and really disregards the whole process of a primary."
Ferate emphasized that the issue isn't with whom Linch endorsed; it's that she endorsed anyone at all.
"It's also a risky path," he said. "Because if somebody else wins up there in the first Congressional District, she still has to work with that person."
National and state parties often refrain from endorsing candidates in contested primaries, and many state parties have rules against doing so. Oklahoma does not, although Ferate says it did at one time.
But Linch said she "did not agree to lose [her] voice" when elected to lead the OKGOP.
"The rules of the Oklahoma Republican Party do not restrict officers from making endorsements," Linch wrote in a statement shared by the OKGOP Thursday afternoon. "In a state where only Republicans hold office at the state level, the primaries are often where the winner of a race is decided."
OKGOP headquarters passed a request for comment on to Linch, who did not respond.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
