On Monday, Watts endorsed Joy Hofmeister, the state superintendent of public education who in 2021 changed her party designation from Republican to Democrat in order to run against incumbent Republican Governor Kevin Stitt.

An endorsement video featuring Watts was posted on the Twitter account Imagine This Oklahoma, in which Watts calls his service to the state of Oklahoma “the honor of a lifetime.” The video features a clip of Watts speaking at the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego.

“I was a Republican then and I’m a Republican now,” Watts says in the ad. “And friends, I’m voting for Joy Hofmeister. All this scandal and corruption is just too much.

“Joy is a woman of faith and integrity. She’ll always put Oklahoma first. I know Joy personally; I trust her, and you can too,” he adds.

Watts played football at the University of Oklahoma prior to representing Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1995 and 2003.

In 1998, Watts was elected chair of the House Republican Conference—a role he served between 1999 and 2003. That same year he delivered the GOP response to former President Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address.

He founded and currently chairs a government affairs firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.

“Conservatives like Congressman Watts see Stitt’s lies about me for what they are—a desperate attempt to maintain power,” Hofmeister said via tweet in response to the Watts endorsement.

“Conservatives like Congressman J.C. Watts see Stitt’s waste and corruption as a barrier to progress in our state, and I’m well known as a leader who can bring people together to get things done,” the Hofmeister campaign told Newsweek on Tuesday.

The Stitt campaign provided no comment to Newsweek other than a reference to a recent article in Tulsa World that links Watts’ position on the board of directors of technology provider Paycom, headquartered in Oklahoma City, to his support of Hofmeister.

“As it happens, Watts is a director of Oklahoma City’s Paycom Inc. Paycom’s president and chief executive officer, Chad Richison, is known not to be a Stitt fan, and Stitt has said he suspects Richison of being behind much of the dark money that’s been spent against him,” Tulsa World reported.

The KOTV-DT news station in Tulsa reported that Stitt has been endorsed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and will campaign with Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in the week leading up to the midterms.

A poll by Oklahoma-based political consulting firm Ascend Action from about two weeks ago showed Hofmeister with a 7-point lead against Stitt. But a new Emerson College survey showed opposite results, with Stitt holding a 9-point lead.

Newsweek reached out to Watts for comment.