An Oklahoma pastor running to unseat Sen. James Lankford in the 2022 election cycle is offering religious exemption forms for the COVID-19 vaccine, adding that he will sign them if people opt to join his church.
Jackson Lahmeyer, 29, leads Sheridan Church in Tulsa with his wife, Kendra, and devised a plan with the right-leaning ThriveTime Show podcast host Clay Clark to offer people across the country religious exemption forms for the vaccine. The forms are intended to be given to employers if workers seek to avoid taking the COVID-19 vaccine, the candidate told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday.
“So this is a generic form for people to utilize to go and have their pastor sign,” Lahmeyer said. The pastor added that he is offering to sign the forms but said “in order for it to carry any legal weight,” a person would have to become a member of his church. The free form has been downloaded more than 30,000 times, according to Lahmeyer.
Lahmeyer touched on any would-be critics of the move who believe the plan is a “money grab,” arguing that someone could donate $1 to have him sign the form. The first-time candidate added that he would prefer other pastors to sign the forms if a person is already a member of a different church.
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The federal vaccine mandate ordered by President Joe Biden last week, which prompts employers of over 100 workers to require COVID-19 vaccines or subject employees to weekly testing, has raised some alarm bells among groups who are hesitant to take the vaccine.
Charles Haynes, a senior fellow for religious freedom at the Freedom Forum in Washington, D.C., argued that a person who wants to exempt themselves from taking the vaccine for religious reasons should only have to state a sincere religious belief, according to the Washington Post.
Lahmeyer faces an uphill battle in his race against the incumbent Republican Lankford before next year’s primary, though he has received support from Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman John Bennett, as well as endorsements from Gen. Michael Flynn and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, two prominent backers of former President Donald Trump.
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“James [Lankford] requested Trump’s endorsement six months ago. It hasn’t happened, and I don’t think it’s going to,” Lahmeyer told the Washington Examiner, touting his recent endorsement from Jenna Ellis, a former senior legal adviser to Trump.
“Jackson is a pastor and businessman who was compelled to enter politics when he refused to close his church during the lockdowns,” Ellis said.
The 2022 candidate has yet to receive an endorsement from Trump.
