đłď¸ Even If Elected To Congress, These Pastors Plan To Remain In The Pulpit đ
Weekend Plug-in đ
Editorâs note: Every Friday, âWeekend Plug-inâ meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr.
OKLAHOMA CITY â Jackson Lahmeyer and Frederick D. Haynes III couldnât be any more different politically.
Lahmeyer, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a âMAGA Warriorâ who founded Pastors for Trump. Lahmeyer supports President Donald Trumpâs approach to immigration enforcement and his handling of the Iran war.
Haynes, who lives in Dallas, calls Trump âa corrupt bully in the White House.â Haynes favors the abolition of ICE â aka U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement â and opposes military intervention in Iran.
Lahmeyer, a 34-year-old millennial, is a White Republican.
Haynes, a 65-year-old baby boomer, is a Black Democrat.
But hereâs what Lahmeyer and Haynes have in common: Both are pastors. Both are running for Congress. And both could win in November.
Lahmeyer seemed like an underdog when he announced his candidacy in March to succeed Rep. Kevin Hern. Hern is seeking the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Markwayne Mullin, the Oklahoman tapped by Trump to head the Department of Homeland Security.
READ: Pastors For Trump Founder Touts âHUGE Announcementâ On Possible Run For Congress
Lahmeyer, who leads an independent charismatic congregation, previously challenged Sen. James Lankford, a Southern Baptist and ordained pastor himself, in Oklahomaâs 2022 GOP primary. Against the incumbent, Lahmeyer got about a quarter of the vote.
So what makes Lahmeyer likely to do better June 16 in the 11-candidate race for Oklahomaâs 1st District seat?
This is the big factor: Last week, the pastor of Tulsaâs Sheridan Church secured Trumpâs endorsement.
âA very successful Pastor, Businessman, and Civic Leader, Jackson has dedicated his life to serving his Community,â Trump said on social media. âAs your next Congressman, Jackson will fight tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Promote our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Advance American Energy DOMINANCE, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, Safeguard our Elections, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.â
This week, House GOP leaders â including Speaker Mike Johnson â issued a joint statement backing Lahmeyer.
Republicans have controlled the district since 1987. Trump carried it by 20-plus percentage points in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Haynes, meanwhile, emerged as the winner March 3 in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination in Texasâ 30th Congressional District. He got 74% of the vote.
READ: James Talarico And The Struggle Over Christianity In US Politics
The incumbent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, chose to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican John Cornyn, now facing a tight GOP runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Crockett lost in the Democratic primary to James Talarico, a Texas state legislator and Presbyterian seminary student whose candidacy has highlighted the divide between the Christian left and right.
In the general election, Haynes is heavily favored to win what is â according to CBS News â âone of the most reliably Democratic seats in the state.â
Hereâs something else that Lahmeyer and Haynes have in common: Even if elected to Congress, both plan to remain in their pastor roles.
âYes sir,â Lahmeyer told me in a text message this week. âWill remain at Sheridan, win, lose or draw.â
The 1,700-member Sheridan Church has campuses in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
Haynes is the longtime senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, which has more than 13,000 members.
Like Lahmeyer, he emphasized that he wonât leave the pulpit.
âThis is really a reflection,â Haynes told Inside Texas Politics, âof the great tradition, especially in the Black church, where you had Adam Clayton Powell Jr. You had Floyd Flake. To this day you have Sen. Raphael Warnock, who, in a real sense, expanded the pulpit. So itâs not leaving the pulpit as much as it is expanding the pulpit so that the message of justice is brought to the political arena.â
In a previous column about Lahmeyer, I pointed out:
Representing constituents as a congressman while maintaining his role as the churchâs pastor would be extremely rare.
Five ordained ministers â three in the House and two in the Senate â serve in the 119th Congress.
âThere is no authoritative count of the total number of clergy who have ever served in Congress,â the Pew Research Center noted in 2015. âBut it appears that all the ordained clergy who have served in Congress over the past 225 years have been Christians, and almost all of them have been Protestants.â
Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, maintains his role as senior pastor of Atlantaâs historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once led. Lankford has served as an occasional fill-in preacher during his political tenure.
From Alaska to Arkansas, Lahmeyer and Haynes are far from the only pastors running for state and federal offices in 2026.
Pastor John Elleson won the Republican primary in Illinoisâ 9th Congressional District, but the district is considered reliably Democratic.
READ: âOverhypedâ Christian Nationalism Label Draws Political Backlash
Two Christian ministry leaders in Colorado â state Rep. Scott Bottoms and first-time candidate Victor Marx â are seeking the GOPâs gubernatorial nomination. The primary election is June 30.
In Kansas, Adam Hamilton, pastor of the largest United Methodist Church in the nation, is running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate. The primary election is Aug. 4.
As noted by Religion News Serviceâs Kathryn Post, Kansas last sent a Democrat to the Senate in 1932.
In a letter to his Resurrection church family, Hamilton said heâll keep serving as senior pastor during the campaign but reduce his schedule.
âOur Executive Team will manage the day-to-day operations, and our team of pastors and some amazing guest preachers will lead us in worship,â he wrote. âShould I win, the church will determine my role at that time.â
Inside The Godbeat
FÄVS.News, a digital media start-up that covers religion in the Pacific Northwest, is expanding statewide in Washington.
Why?
âBecause local religion journalism matters more than ever,â said Tracy Simmons, executive director of FÄVS.News.
In a column explaining the expansion, Simmons makes the case that the âPacific Northwest isnât godless. We just havenât been paying attention.â
The Final Plug
Welcome to the Church of âAmerican Idol.â
Or it so seemed this season on ABCâs reality TV singing competition, which devoted an entire episode to songs of faith.
âLet the congregation say amen!â Lionel Richie â one of the showâs three judges, along with Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan â said frequently in praising performances.
On this weekâs grand finale, third-place contestant Keyla Richardson, a Florida music teacher, performed âI Love the Lordâ by Whitney Houston.
Runner-up Jordan McCullough, a Tennessee church worship director, got a standing ovation with âGoodness of God.â
And, after winning the âIdolâ crown, Hannah Harper, a Missouri mother who used the showâs platform to share her faith, ended the finale by singing âAt the Cross (Love Ran Red)â by Chris Tomlin.
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.
Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 20 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.