GOP Sen. Lankford apologizes to Black constituents for opposing election results

The Hill



Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) on Thursday wrote a letter apologizing to Black constituents for opposing the Electoral College results, saying he didn’t realize the attempt would cast doubt “on the validity of votes coming out of predominantly Black communities.”

In a letter addressed to “My friends in North Tulsa” obtained by Tulsa World, Lankford acknowledges that his actions “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 senator wrote in his letter that it was never his intention to “disenfranchise any voter or state” but that he wanted to resolve “any outstanding questions” before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Wednesday.

“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,” he wrote.

“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,” he continued.