PHOENIX — Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has filed federal paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, becoming the first Republican to jump into a high-profile race for the seat now held by independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Lamb, who filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, has built a profile in Arizona and beyond as a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and an advocate for cracking down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling. While Pinal County is not on the U.S.-Mexico border, it has a number of active drug and human smuggling routes through remote desert terrain.
“Arizona needs a fighter in the U.S. Senate to defend our values of God, family, and freedom,” Lamb said in a prepared statement. “I’ll stand up to the woke left and the weak politicians in Washington, secure our border and support law enforcement. I will defend our Second Amendment and the right to life, cut wasteful spending, fight inflation, and put more money back in your pocket.”
The Arizona race is a top target for Republicans looking to take control of the Senate, which Democrats control 51-49, including Sinema and two other independents who generally vote with Democrats. The 2024 Senate map heavily favors the GOP, with Democratic-held seats up for grabs in three states Trump won.
Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December after her relationship with many members of the party ruptured, is raising money for a potential reelection campaign but has not said whether she will seek a second term. U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego is the only Democrat in the race. He said last week he raised $3.7 million in the first quarter.
"Arizonans deserve serious candidates who respect our democracy and rule of law. Luckily, there’s still plenty of time for the GOP to produce one. Mark Lamb is just another reality TV personality trying to cash in," Gallego said in part of a prepared statement Tuesday.
In response, Lamb said he believes he'll gain support from Arizona voters.
"I've been spending the last seven years working hard dealing with the issues that my constituents and Arizona Families are concerned about reducing crime, staying within my budget, fighting this border crisis," Lamb said.
Fast-growing Pinal County is sandwiched between the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. Its small agricultural and mining towns have been dwarfed in recent decades by master-planned exurbs and retirement communities where newcomers gobble up affordable homes.
Lamb is a fixture in border-themed television ads that show him walking through the desert, rifle in hand, with Republican candidates. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, the sheriff refused to enforce Republican then-Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order. He also created a streaming service called “American Sheriff Network” to highlight the work of law enforcement agencies.
It's his six years as Pinal County Sheriff since he was elected in 2016 that Lamb said is motivating his run to be Arizona's next senator.
"I just started looking on the landscape of Arizona and realizing that not just Pinal County needed a conservative fighter, but that Arizona needs a proven conservative fighter," Lamb told 12News in an interview Tuesday.
Lamb said both the border and fentanyl are among his top priorities if elected to the seat, saying he'd be working to get back to Trump-era border policies.
"We start from there and then we build and we really focus on getting some common sense immigration, while attacking these issues that are affecting Americans every day," Lamb said.
Lamb could wind up in a crowded Republican primary and will likely face a formidable fight for the GOP nomination.
Kari Lake, a former television news anchor who became a star among many Republicans before losing the 2022 race for governor, is considering a Senate run and would be the immediate front-runner. Others considering running include Blake Masters, Jim Lamon and Karrin Taylor Robson, who lost 2022 races for Senate or governor.
All of Lamb's potential Republican rivals have, to varying degrees, something the sheriff lacks — easy access to large sums of money. Lake can raise it from her legion of fans, while the other potential candidates have personal fortunes or benefactors they can draw from. Lamb's ability to raise money will be an early test of his viability.
As for how he is intending to gain votes from the divided Republican party, Lamb went back to when he started as sheriff in Pinal County.
"It starts with leadership, good leadership, working on those issues, one at a time addressing them, bridging the gap, finding common ground, I look forward to being that leader for the Republican Party to get everybody back to where they can trust that we are common sense, forward-thinking," Lamb said.
Arizona Republicans have embraced Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, last year nominating for statewide offices a slate of candidates who put election conspiracies at the center of their campaigns. All lost in the general election, prompting fears in some Republican circles of a repeat that could hinder their path to a Senate majority.
Lake has continued to aggressively push claims of interference in her own election loss last year that have been rejected by courts.
Lamb this month distanced himself from election conspiracies, saying he hasn't seen evidence of “material, large-scale fraud” that he could take to a jury. Lamb's own Pinal County had serious issues last year that were blamed on ineptitude rather than fraud.
"I have not received any material, any evidence of large-scale material fraud that was actionable that we could take to court. But we've certainly heard the concerns that people are concerned about the way our elections are going," Lamb told 12News Tuesday.
“Where I thought there was smoke, I looked for fire,” Lamb said in an interview with the Phoenix Fox affiliate. “I got involved with some of the groups that were actively out saying they had evidence. To this day, I’ve never been provided any evidence of significant material fraud.”
Lamb experienced tragedy late last year, when his 22-year-old son, the son’s fiancée and their 1-year-old daughter were killed in a crash when their vehicle was hit by a suspected drunken driver.
You can click here to watch Lamb's announcement video.
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