The Donald Trump-backed candidate in the Republican runoff to represent Oklahoma’s 1st congressional district in the United States Congress has dropped out of the race after allegedly texting a woman who was not his wife.

Jackson Lahmeyer, a megachurch pastor from Tulsa and founder of ‘Pastors for Trump,’ advanced to the Republican primary runoff election against Mark Tedford. Lahmeyer received 25.9 percent of the vote to Tedford’s 32.2 percent.

On Wednesday, Lahmeyer announced that he’s withdrawing from the primary runoff.

“After prayerful consideration with my wife, Kendra, and my team over the last twenty four hours, I’ve made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for Congress,” he said in a statement. “I do not want to be a distraction to my family, my church, and the great people of Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, who deserve a strong conservative voice representing them in Washington.”

The move comes days after The Daily Mail published a story claiming that Lahmeyer had sent suggestive text messages to Caitlin Simmons Key, a former Miss Oklahoma USA, who said she worked on Lahmeyer’s campaign as a fundraiser.

The messages appear to show Lahmeyer and Key, who is not his wife, engaging in multiple conversations. In the text messages, Lahmeyer complimented her body, telling her “I enjoy those lips,” sent selfies, and said he wanted to see her in person.

Messages also show Key hinting at Lahmeyer’s marital status.

“And at some point – if u need to get divorced. Then ok,” she said.

“Not right now tho lol,” Lahmeyer replied.

“No one’s asking, but again I’ve been down this road. I don’t want you to hate me. U r in love with me and we don’t even have sex,” Key said.

In a post on Twitter, Lahmeyer admitted to “crossing a boundary line” by texting Key, who is divorced.

With Lahmeyer out of the race, Tedford will advance to the general election where he will face Democrat John Croisant in the reliably red district.

Before Tuesday’s primary, Trump endorsed Lahmeyer, calling him a “MAGA warrior”. After the election, Trump rescinded his endorsement of Lahmeyer and threw his support behind Tedford.