Pastors for Trump founder drops out of House race after texting scandal

Jackson Lahmeyer has dropped out of the House race in Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District — one day after advancing to a runoff in the Republican primary — amid a text-messaging scandal. "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," Lahmeyer posted on social media . "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." The Daily Mail earlier this week published what it said were text messages between Lahmeyer and a former Miss Oklahoma, who is not his wife. In one alleged exchange, he called her "very cute" and sent a selfie of himself while at a party at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The text messages were also viewed by CBS Tulsa affiliate KOTV . CBS News has not independently verified the texts. Lahmeyer, a pastor who founded a group called Pastors for Trump, had received Mr. Trump's endorsement in May, wth Mr. Trump reiterating his support on Monday ahead of the primary. Mr. Trump also posted a graphic on social media Tuesday night about Lahmeyer advancing to a runoff, which included the words "endorsed by Trump." But on Wednesday, Mr. …