On Wednesday, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) announced his campaign for the No. 5 spot in Republican leadership.
Lankford will run to become the Senate GOP Conference's vice chairman. The post is being vacated by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). Capito is running to move up a spot to become the Senate GOP policy chairwoman.
“The Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair plays a vital role in serving Republican Senators and their staff as they communicate the conservative policy ideas that make our nation stronger,” Lankford said in a statement. “As Senators, we were elected to do hard things and to solve problems by doing the right thing, the right way. It is my desire to serve our Conference in every way I can as we work together to solve the challenges our nation faces.”
“I will personally ask each of my colleagues for their support in the days ahead and look forward to discussing with them ways we can work together to serve the nation,” he added.
The Oklahoma Senator recently attracted more attention over his role in crafting the unsuccessful bipartisan border security package alongside Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).
Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) are running to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the top conference leadership position, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) has positioned himself to become the GOP whip, and Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are seeking to become the Senate GOP conference chairman, the No. 3 position.
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