Sheriff Mark Lamb files signatures for Arizona Senate race

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb filed his signatures to qualify for the Arizona Republican primary ballot for a competitive United States Senate seat up for grabs.

"I'm the only candidate that's beaten Democrats, and I'm looking forward to actually representing not just Republicans. As a sheriff, I've represented Republicans, Democrats, and Independents," Lamb said outside the Executive Tower in Phoenix on Monday afternoon. According to the sheriff, he obtained over 13,000 signatures, well above the 7,072 minimum required to make the ballot.

Lamb is running in the same primary as Kari Lake, who ran for governor in 2022 and is widely expected to win the Senate race nomination. A Noble Predictive Insights poll from Feb. 6-13 among 384 registered Republicans showed Lake leading with 54% compared with Lamb's 21%.

Despite seeking the same office now, Lamb was supportive of Lake during her gubernatorial bid, even occasionally appearing at news conferences and other events alongside her.

As a candidate, his major focus has been the border crisis. Pinal County is not along the southern border but frequently deals with border-related crime, such as pursuits.

On the Democratic side, Congressman Ruben Gallego is the only major candidate in the race. Lake obtained an estimated 10,120 signatures through E-QUAL, and Gallego obtained an estimated 14,186 signatures.

On March 5, Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced she is not seeking re-election. Her announcement dodged the possibility of an unusual three-way race, in which the independent would be the incumbent.

"Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year," Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in Dec. 2022, said in a video, The Center Square reported.