GOP Senator Pens Letter Apologizing To Black Constituents for Election Challenge

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) is apologizing to his Black constituents after he originally planned to challenge the presidential election results.

He is noting that challenges to the election were viewed as “casting doubt on the validity of votes coming out of predominantly Black communities” across the country.

In a letter to “friends in North Tulsa” on Thursday, Lankford recognized, “My action of asking for more election information caused a firestorm of suspicion among many of my friends, particularly in Black communities around the state. I was completely blindsided, but I also found a blind spot.” The letter was obtained by Tulsa World.

He continued, “What I did not realize was all of the national conversation about states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, was seen as casting doubt on the validity of votes coming out of predominantly Black communities like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit.” The senator added:

“After decades of fighting for voting rights, many Black friends in Oklahoma saw this as a direct attack on their right to vote, for their vote to matter, and even a belief that their votes made an election in our country illegitimate.”

In his conclusion, Lankford wrote, “I can assure you, my intent to give a voice to Oklahomans who had questions was never also an intent to diminish the voice of any Black American… I should have recognized how what I said and what I did could be interpreted by many of you.”

“I deeply regret my blindness to that perception, and for that I am sorry.”

Lankford was among a group of Republican senators planning to challenge