Posted on January 19, 2021

Sen. Lankford Apologizes to Black Tulsa Voters for Questioning Election Results

Ebony Bowden, New York Post, January 15, 2021

Sen. James Lankford apologized to black voters in his home state of Oklahoma on Friday for opposing the outcome of the presidential election in states with large African American populations.

In a letter addressed to “My friends in North Tulsa,” obtained by the Tulsa World, the 52-year-old Republican acknowledged that his actions “caused a firestorm of suspicion among many of my friends, particularly in Black communities around the state.”

Lankford was one of several senators who dropped their challenge to President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory after President Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol.

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“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,” Lankford wrote.

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