GOP Senate candidate T.W. Shannon says capitalism made America great, but now it's under attack

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T.W. Shannon on why he's running for Senate in Oklahoma: 'Capitalism works for everybody'

T.W. Shannon tells Fox News Digital his life is a testament to capitalism lifting up everybody.

Former Speaker of the Oklahoma House T.W. Shannon, a Republican who announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate last week, has said the key reason why he’s running is to protect free enterprise and capitalism. However, he feels "capitalism" isn't the only C-word that’s made American great.  

"It's the Constitution. It's capitalism, and it's Christianity for the purposes of religious liberty, because we know that our Judeo-Christian heritage is what really gave the world the idea. So that's why I'm running, because these are the values that are under attack and Washington, D.C. has done far too little, I think, to help propel forward what made the country great," Shannon told Fox News Digital. 

"My entire life story, my testimony, is that capitalism works for everybody," he said. 

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Shannon is seeking to fill retiring Senator Jim Inhofe’s seat after losing to then-Congressman James Lankford in a runoff eight years ago. 

T.W. Shannon, who announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate last week, has said the key reason why he’s running is to protect free enterprise and capitalism. (https://www.okcu.edu/directory/t-w-shannon)

"Like Most Americans, I’m concerned about the direction of the country, and I certainly support the America First agenda," Shannon said. "I also realize that you have to ask the other question what made America great in the first place, and I really think it’s the three Cs."

Shannon said the idea of what he feels made America great – the "three Cs" of Constitution, capitalism and Christianity -- are all under attack. Shannon is also an outspoken critic of the "woke agenda," which he plans to combat simply by telling the truth. 

"There's a whole narrative out there right now that tells an entire generation of people who look like me that if you are African American, Native American, like I am, I’m both… there is this whole narrative that the country doesn’t work for you. That capitalism is only for a certain sect of people who are born in a certain zip code or, you know, come from a certain heritage. That’s the biggest lie," he said. "The truth is, capitalism works for anybody who has a work ethic, that’s willing to make decisions, take ownership for the decisions that they make, start a family, grow a family and invest in their community. That’s how you make American great again." 

T.W. Shannon, the former co-chair of Black Voices for Trump, said the former president told him to "go out there and win." (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Shannon, the former co-chair of Black Voices for Trump, spoke to the former president before he announced his candidacy during a news conference at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

"He said, ‘Go out there and win,’… the conversations that I had with him over the years have always been very, very consistent. We've got to go win for America because our kids are grandkids are counting on it," Shannon said. "We talk about conservatism, and even you know what it means to be the steward. Good stewardship is leading things in a better condition in a way. There is no question that President Trump, the four years that he was in office, he did a lot to move America forward, especially African Americans."

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The 44-year-old Republican is particularly peeved by the notion that American is systemically racist and feels capitalism is the only system known to move people from generational poverty into the middle class. 

"America is the home of systemic opportunity," he said. "I’m the father of a 16-year-old and a 12-year-old and the last thing I want is a racist theory like critical race theory, Marxist idea, telling them that they’re either a victim or going to be victim the rest of their lives and that their White friends are somehow the oppressor."