Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb Files Paperwork to Run for US Senate

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in his office in Florence, Ariz., on Nov. 12, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb officially entered the race for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, filing his paperwork on April 11.

Lamb is the first Republican to announce his candidacy to challenge Sen. Kyrsten Sinema(I-Ariz.).

“We need leaders in this country that aren’t too politically correct to protect us,” Lamb said in his announcement video.

Lamb began his campaign video by talking about how important family is to him, as the sheriff lost his 22-year-old son in a car crash—along with his son’s fiancée and their 1-year-old daughter—when their vehicle was hit by a suspected drunken driver last year.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb speaks with Kari Lake, a Republican candidate for Arizona governor, during a roundtable discussion on the fentanyl crisis in Goodyear, Ariz., on March 14, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

A statement from Lamb reads: “I’m Sheriff Mark Lamb. Arizona needs a conservative fighter in the US Senate to defend our values of God, family, and freedom. 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.”

Sheriff Allied With Trump

Lamb has been heavily critical of President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S.–Mexico border and has joined former President Donald Trump in efforts to finish building the border wall, provide stricter laws, and take direct actions to combat illegal immigration and drug smuggling by the Mexican cartels.

He called for the U.S. military to “wipe them out just like we did to ISIS” in his video announcement of his candidacy.

Lamb started a streaming series called “American Sheriff Network,” which highlights the work of law enforcement agencies.

The race for the Senate seat is shaping up to be a high-profile contest, as Lamb could be up against Kari Lake, a former journalist and former candidate for Arizona governor, in the Republican primary.

Lake, who lost her bid for governor, has also been reportedly considering a campaign for the Senate.

In an interview with Dan Ball on One America News Network, Lake said she might try to redeem herself in the upcoming 2024 election.

“I am seriously considering a run for Senate, yes absolutely,” Lake said. “Just because they stole an election ... we’re so dangerous to them, I’m so dangerous to the status quo and this rotten swamp that they’re willing to steal an election to stop me and our movement. I’m not letting them get away with that. We’re not going away. And so I am seriously considering a run for Senate.”

Other candidates who are considering running for Arizona’s senate seat include Blake Masters, who won the Republican primary but unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) in 2022; Jim Lamon, who lost to Masters in the Senate primary; and Karrin Taylor Robson, who ran in the Republican primary for governor but lost to Lake.

Control of the Senate

The Arizona race is a top target for Republicans looking to take control of the Senate. Democrats technically have 48 seats compared to Republicans’ 49, but the three independent senators—Sinema, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine)—all caucus with the Democrats.

Lamb was highly critical of then-Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order, and he posted a video explaining that his office wouldn’t mandate the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I did it because I’m tired of seeing weak leadership across this country and weak leadership as it relates to protecting their employees’ rights. So we wanted to do something that let people know that here, we don’t tolerate that,” Lamb said in a Fox News interview at the time.

“It’s people’s personal choice. Health choices have always been. Last year, it was like pulling teeth to get a list of anybody that had COVID so that when my deputies responded to their houses, we knew who they were. Now, these same people are more than willing to give up all of your public health privacy for the sake of security. And I’m not OK with that.”