Lankford Makes Campaign Stop in Watonga

WATONGA – U.S. Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma visited Watonga last week during a campaign tour of the Sooner State as he prepares for primary elections later this month.

Speaking to a crowd of several dozen at the TGC craft mall and coffee shop on a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Lankford discussed U.S. border security and illegal immigration before taking questions about mass shootings, election integrity, gas prices and the war in Ukraine.

He was joined at the gathering by Watonga’s state Rep. Mike Dobrinski, R-Okeene, who is supporting Lankford for reelection.

Lankford, who serves on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs and has made border security a signature issue, told the crowd that a quarter-million people illegally crossed into the United States last month.

“That was the highest month ever,” Lankford said. “The record that it broke was the month before.”

Lankford recently visited the border near Yuma, Arizona, where agents told him that citizens of 50 different countries had been apprehended there – in just the previous week. He said the border crossers in Yuma, unlike most of the migrants of the Rio Grande Valley, are actually affluent people from around the world who simply want to live in America.Lankford Makes Campaign Stop in Watonga“They literally just step across, 10 feet, and just stand there and wait for the border patrol to pick them up,” Lankford said. “It’s like, ‘Where’s my ride?’”

He said the migrants who claim asylum correctly are given a court date years away and released into whatever city they choose.

Lankford has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s border policies, arguing for a return to Trump-era reforms like a physical barrier, the “Remain in Mexico” policy for asylum-seekers, and the continuation of the Title 42 emergency measure that allows agents to turn away migrants because of COVID-19 concerns.

Democrats have criticized Lankford and other GOP border hawks for what they say are alarmist messages and cruel policies.

Q&A

After opening up the floor for questions, talk quickly turned to the schoolhouse massacre in Uvalde, Texas, that had occurred the prior week. Lankford called the tragedy a “really, really painful” event, but said the solution will be better enforcement of existing laws, like “red flag” laws, rather than new laws.

He also suggested that having more responsible gun owners and readily available weapons could cut down on the tragedies. “When I was in high school, just about every truck in the high school parking lot had a gun rack in the back with a rifle in it,” Lankford told the audience. “We didn’t have school shootings when I was in high school, but there were lots of rifles and pistols, even on school property.”

Hours after Lankford spoke in Watonga, a gunman opened fire at a Tulsa hospital and killed four people, including his doctor. News reports have suggested that some congressional Republicans are working with Democrats on potential compromise legislation to address gun violence.

Other Lankford quotes from Wednesday included:

• On gas prices: “I know President Biden keeps saying energy prices are all Putin’s fault. I would say about half of the increase is because of the war in Ukraine. The other half of the increase is totally Biden’s fault. It’s the policies that he’s put in place.”

• On why he didn’t object to 2020 election results: “I took an oath to the United States Constitution. That day, at the end of the day, I only had one option. And a lot of us would love to have had a second option. … Thankfully, there’s been a lot of changes that have happened in the last year on election issues. … I encourage people: Keep voting.”

Lankford’s decision not to object to the electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania, two contested states during the 2020 election, has earned him two primary challengers. Joan Farr and Jackson Lahmeyer will be on the ballot with Lankford this June 28.

Lahmeyer is a Tulsa pastor who has been endorsed by Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and other associates of former President Donald Trump.

Lankford ended his Watonga address by asking for support in the primary election. “I would be honored to be able to get your vote on the 28th of June,” Lankford said.