James Lankford

James Paul Lankford born March 4 1968 is an American Baptist minister and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma a seat he has held since 2015 A member of the Republican Party he represented Oklahomas 5th congressional district in the US House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015 From 1996 to 2009 Lankford was president of the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center a youth camp operated by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma He is an ordained Southern Baptist minister In 2010 Lankford ran for Oklahomas 5th congressional district In the Republican primary he defeated state representative Kevin Calvey in a runoff and he defeated Democratic nominee Billy Coyle in the general election Lankford was reelected in 2012 shortly thereafter he was named chair of the House Republican Policy Committee In lieu of running for a third term in the House Lankford announced he would run in the 2014 US Senate special election following Senator Tom Coburns planned resignation He won the June 2014 primary with 57 of the vote becoming the Republican nominee Lankford won the special election with nearly 68 of the vote defeating Democratic nominee Connie Johnson He was reelected in 2016 with nearly 68 of the vote and in 2022 with 64 of the vote Lankford became the states senior senator in 2023 when Senator Jim Inhofe retired