Jackson Lahmeyer, the Tulsa pastor running for Congress in Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District, said late Sunday that he crossed a boundary line by sending text messages to a woman who is not his wife. His Facebook statement came less than two days before the primary election, after text threads attributed to him were published hours earlier.
In the post, Lahmeyer said the matter had already been handled privately between him and his wife, Kendra, through counsel and prayer with God and spiritual advisers. He also said he ended all communication with Caitlin Key, the woman identified in the report. The disclosure put fresh attention on a candidate whose campaign has already drawn notice because President Donald Trump and several Republican congressional leaders have backed him.
The texts published by the Daily Mail were described as appearing flirty and as suggesting marital strain. Lahmeyer pushed back on that portrait, saying the messages were carefully cherry-picked to create an impression that was not accurate and that the British tabloid tried to paint him in a way that was not the case. The Oklahoman reported that he did not return its request for comment on the allegations.
Key, identified in the report as Miss Oklahoma USA 2007, said she and Lahmeyer met in 2022 when he was challenging U.S. Sen. James Lankford. The Daily Mail also said she worked as a fundraiser for Lahmeyer's congressional campaign and that the text messages were exchanged in spring 2026. Some of the quoted exchanges carried a personal tone, including one line in which Key asked why he was texting her from a fancy party at Mar-a-Lago and another in which she said no one was asking, but that he was in love with her and they did not even have sex.
Lahmeyer has built a political profile around his activism as well as his faith, including starting Pastors for Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election and working with adviser Roger Stone. What remains unknown is the full text exchange behind the allegations and whether the disclosure will alter the race in the final stretch before voters go to the polls.
