The Osage County Republican Party voted last weekend to censure and demand the resignations of Sens. Jim Inhofe and James Lankford, both Oklahoma Republicans, because they did not support a challenge to the 2020 presidential election results.
In an email distributed after the 2021 Biennial Convention of the Osage County Republican Party on Saturday, the group stated: “The Osage County Republican Party voted to censure our Oklahoma Senators Inhofe and Lankford and demand their resignations for their failure to support President Trump and the will of their constituents. Both legislators are welcome to attend and address the Osage County Republican Party and defend their actions.”
Lankford had previously advocated, along with several other Republicans, a 10-day delay in certifying certain states’ electoral votes in Democrat Joe Biden’s favor so a commission could further investigate challenges lodged by then-President Donald Trump. After an insurrection at the Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, Lankford withdrew his opposition and voted to certify the electoral votes.
Lankford later apologized for failing to recognize that questioning the election results in cities such as Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta, where majorities of voters are Black, could offend Black Oklahomans.
Inhofe maintained that the Constitution did not give Congress the authority to challenge electoral votes certified by the various states and the District of Columbia.
A censure is a formal motion that expresses strong disapproval that is adopted by majority vote.
The resolution is a rebuke but does not move beyond an expression of disapproval to a removal from office.
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