Oklahoma Sen. James M. Inhofe said Friday he would resign from the Senate next year, prompting a scramble to fill the seat in a solidly red state ahead of a June 28 primary.
Inhofe, 87, made the announcement to supporters in the Oklahoma History Center by phone because he has a mild case of COVID-19. The phone was in front of a microphone on a lectern as his chief of staff — whom the senator wants to be his successor — stood by.
“I will be leaving the United States Senate on the third of January,” Inhofe said. “Nothing is going to change, as far as I’m concerned, until almost a year from now.”
