Lankford, James (1968-…), became a United States senator in 2015. Lankford, a Republican, represents Oklahoma. Prior to his election to the Senate, Lankford had served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lankford was born on March 4, 1968, in Dallas. In 1990, he received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Texas at Austin. Four years later, he earned a master’s degree in divinity from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1995, Lankford worked for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. In 1996, Lankford began serving as a camp director for the Falls Creek Youth Camp in south-central Oklahoma. He worked at the Christian camp—one of the nation’s largest summer camps—until 2009.
In 2010, Lankford won election to a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected in 2012. As a congressman, Lankford served on the Budget Committee and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He became known for his conservative positions on economic, energy, and social issues. In 2012, his colleagues elected him chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.
In June 2014, Lankford won his party’s nomination for a special election to the U.S. Senate. In November, he won the election to serve out the last two years of the term of Senator Tom Coburn, who was retiring because of health issues. Lankford was elected to a full six-year Senate term in 2016. He won reelection in 2022.
