US6 min(s) read
Published 10:55 19 Jun 2026 GMT
A Trump-endorsed pastor has admitted he cheated on his wife with a former beauty queen who worked on his campaign.
Jackson Lahmeyer, a married father of five and founder of Pastors for Trump, made the confession during an interview on Thursday, which was just one day after he withdrew from Oklahoma's Republican congressional primary following a crushing election result and scrutiny over his relationship with former Miss Oklahoma USA, Caitlin Simmons Key.
"After prayerful consideration with my wife, Kendra, and my team over the last twenty four hours, I’ve made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for Congress," he wrote in a statement.
"I do not want to be a distraction to my family, my church, and the great people of Oklahoma’s 1st congressional district, who deserve a strong conservative voice representing them in Washington," he added.
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The scandal erupted after intimate text messages between Lahmeyer, 34, and Key, 40, surfaced during the campaign.
One message allegedly showed the pastor telling her: "I enjoyed those lips."
Ahead of Tuesday's primary, Lahmeyer denied any physical relationship, but after Key publicly described multiple kisses between them, he changed his tune.
Asked whether Key was lying, Lahmeyer replied: "No, she is not lying."
When asked if they had ever had sex, he said: "We kissed and in 2022 I had an affair on my wife and I've owned that. But Caitlin Key and I did not have sex during this election. There's plenty of text messages to prove that."
Pressed on whether he was admitting the relationship became sexual in 2022, he responded: "In 2022, I cheated on my wife."
Lahmeyer and Key first crossed paths in 2021 while moving in the same conservative political circles in Oklahoma.
At the time, Lahmeyer had gained attention as the pastor who refused to shut down his church during the Covid pandemic, while Key was active in Republican fundraising and political events.
The two reconnected the following year while Key was going through a painful divorce. Lahmeyer reached out to offer support, and their friendship developed further.
According to Key, the affair occurred in late 2022. After meeting for drinks, the pair eventually returned to one of Lahmeyer's residences.
"It was just that one night," Key said, adding that they did not see each other again for another year.
She claimed she had only fragmented memories of the encounter and said she was so intoxicated that she blew out a tire on her new white Range Rover while trying to drive home.
While Key insisted there was no ongoing physical affair after 2022, she said the relationship became physical again during Lahmeyer's congressional campaign, though only through kissing.
"I literally never touched him again besides kissing," she said.
The pair also exchanged messages that ultimately started the scandal and thrust Lahmeyer's campaign into crisis.
Key reflected on the situation, stating that she now views the circumstances differently. "Women who are in difficult relationships, they're very easily preyed upon by others," she said.
She added that she never planned for details of the 2022 encounter to become public.
Lahmeyer described his withdrawal from the race as personal accountability, rather than a political calculation.
"As much as I want to be in Congress, I am going to choose to make things right with my wife and my kids," he said.
The former candidate described the downfall of his campaign as "a blessing in disguise," adding: "I was heading down a very, very bad path and this may have spared my life and my family."
He admitted that throughout the relationship, he understood his actions were wrong.
"I knew the entire time," he said. "You have the feelings of guilt and shame and all that kind of stuff."
He said the decision to suspend his campaign became clear after Tuesday's disappointing election results.
"She took an exit to get on the highway. I went a different path to go back home. And what came to my mind was just, 'I'm going to choose my wife over a dream.'"
The pastor publicly apologized to his supporters, donors, and constituents.
"I'm just beyond grateful for them, but then at the same time, so sorry for letting them down and I own it completely," he said. "I'm not trying to cast blame on anybody. I own it. I apologize."
He also stressed that his wife, Kendra, had stood by him despite the turmoil.
"It was really my decision," he said of withdrawing from the race. "My wife's a lot tougher than I am. She wanted us to stay in and just continue and finish the race."
"She didn't do anything wrong, and she's taken a lot of pain," he continued. "I really don't care about the election. I know I should. I'm the candidate on the ballot, but I just need to make things right."
Lahmeyer reserved a specific apology for President Donald Trump, who had endorsed him earlier this year as a "MAGA Warrior" who "WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN," before later backing state Representative Mark Tedford following the election results.
"It's the honor of a lifetime to have the endorsement of arguably the greatest president of my lifetime," Lahmeyer said. "I do apologize for absolutely making a terrible, terrible decision. It's nobody's fault. It's Jackson Lahmeyer made a bad decision."
Lahmeyer announced that he will be taking an indefinite break from preaching at Sheridan Church. He also revealed that his political career is over.
"I've confessed everything to my wife. I've confessed everything to my church," he said, describing himself as a man who had "been holding on to stuff" he "needed to set myself free of."
"I've had my fair share," he said of politics. "I had a lot of fun. I met a lot of great people."
For Key, the fallout was never about destroying Lahmeyer's life.
"My whole intention was for people to know that he shouldn't be leading a church," she said. "I wasn't trying to destroy the man's life. His own actions have done that."
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