Sen. James Lankford Denies Rumors of Run for Governor

Earlier this week, rumors surfaced that Senator James Lankford (R-OK) was considering a run for governor.

The current governor, Kevin Stitt, is term-limited, so he cannot run for re-election in 2026.

If true, this move would have made sense for Lankford because he is likely to have problems with Donald Trump if he wins the presidency.

Bad for His Career

If you recall, Lankford is one of the Senators on the Republican side of the aisle who were behind the so-called bipartisan immigration bill that Joe Biden was pushing to have on his desk.

The House rejected the bill, citing that it codified, more or less, everything that Biden was already doing.

When the bill was published, Donald Trump attacked Lankford for attempting to get the GOP to back it.

At the time, Trump had stated, “I think this is a very bad bill for his career, especially in Oklahoma.

“I won in Oklahoma. I know those people. They’re great people. They’re not going to be happy about this.

“Nobody’s going to be happy about this, but the people in Oklahoma are, these are serious MAGA, these are serious people.

“They are not going to be happy about this, Dan, when they see this. This is crazy. This is lunacy, this bill.”

Trump later added, “This is a gift to Democrats, and this, sort of, is a shifting of the worst border in history onto the shoulders of Republicans. That’s really what they want.

“They want this for the presidential election, so they can now blame the Republicans for the worst border in history.”

As we all know, if Trump puts a target on your head, your career is pretty much done these days, which is why Lankford leaving the Senate would make sense, but that does not appear to be the case.

When Lankford was asked about the rumors, he stated, "I laughingly go: 'I don't know who the sources are, but they're not actually from me or my family.

"That one is fake news."

So, now we hold on and see how the presidential election turns out and if Trump and Lankford can make nice or if Trump tries to end his career when he comes back up for re-election.