Member of OKGOP committee that condemned Lankford wasn't notified of meeting, calling it illegitimate
The chairwoman of Oklahoma Young Republicans said she was not notified of the meeting – and neither were some others on the committee.
The chairwoman of Oklahoma Young Republicans said she was not notified of the meeting – and neither were some others on the committee.
The chairwoman of Oklahoma Young Republicans said she was not notified of the meeting – and neither were some others on the committee.
After the Oklahoma Republican Party approved a resolution condemning Sen. James Lankford, some questioned whether the committee's actions were legitimate.
OKGOP State Committee members passed the resolution Saturday, condemning and censuring Lankford for his work to pass a bipartisan border deal. The resolution, saying the Oklahoma Republican Party will cease all support for Lankford if his actions continue, was posted online by OKGOP Vice Chairman Wayne Hill.
"No sitting Senator has been censured by his own party," said Melody Huckaby Rowlett, who has a Ph.D. and is a professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma.
Lankford was censured by members of his own party, and this came just after former President Donald Trump said he did not want to give Democrats a win with the border. But some have called the resolution illegitimate.
"My understanding is that this may not have been the full party. It may have been a faction of the Republican Party in the state of Oklahoma," Rowlett said.
Taylor Broyles, the chairwoman of Oklahoma Young Republicans, said she was not notified of the meeting – and neither were some others on the committee.
"When you all found out about it is the same time when I found out about it. It's something that caught us as an organization off guard," Broyles said.
Broyles' organization has a voting seat on the State Committee.
"To me, it's disappointing we are attacking someone like that. He has done so much for Oklahoma in general," Broyles said. "We have to work bipartisan deals. That's just part of it."
In a news release posted by Hill, the vice chairman made no mention of committee members being left out of the meeting.
"Today’s meeting was attended by 172 active Republicans from all across Oklahoma. The 124 voting members of the State Committee resoundingly approved this resolution and others as their first official act of the 2024 election year," Hill said in a statement.
But Broyles said this decision could impact her recruitment of young Republicans. Rowlett added this could create an interesting dynamic for Lankford among Oklahomans.
| MORE | Striking a bipartisan border deal could impact November's presidential election
"If the Republican Party is coalescing around a leader, who is the voice and the only voice in that party that matters, then it's going to be difficult for him (Lankford)," Rowlett said, referring to Trump's influence when it comes to the border. "If it continues to act as a party with diverse interests, who are interested in governing, then I think that his integrity, frankly, in trying to find solutions and do his job is going to stay."
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