Mark Lamb (sheriff)

Mark Lamb
Lamb in 2025
Sheriff of Pinal County
In office
January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2024
Preceded byPaul Babeu
Succeeded byRoss Teeple
Personal details
Born (1972-07-14) July 14, 1972
Hilo, Hawaii, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse
Janel Lamb
​
(m. 1994)​
Children5
WebsiteCampaign website

Mark Lamb (born July 14, 1972)[1] is an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, from January 1, 2017 until December 31, 2024.[2] He is a member of the Republican Party. Lamb previously served in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community police department.[3] He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[4]

Lamb was born in Hawaii and lived in many different places during his childhood. After graduating from Chandler High School in Arizona, Lamb moved to Utah to start a paintball business - it later went into bankruptcy. He then worked in pest control. He began his career as a sheriff working for the police department of the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community for six years, before joining a county sheriff's office. In 2017, Lamb was elected sheriff of Pinal County in Arizona.

He ran unopposed for re-election as sheriff in 2020. He was a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2024 looking to replace incumbent independent Kyrsten Sinema after Sinema declined to seek re-election. He was defeated in the primary by Kari Lake, finishing second.

Lamb stepped down from the sheriff's office on December 31, 2024. He was succeeded by Ross Teeple, who took office on January 1, 2025.

Early life, education and career

Lamb spent much of his childhood in Hawaii and also lived in Arizona, Philippines, Panama and Argentina.[4]

Lamb graduated from Chandler High School in Arizona in 1990.

Lamb worked for the police department of the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community for six years. In 2012, he joined the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

Before he began his career in law enforcement, he worked in pest control.[4]

He moved back to Arizona in 2003, after his paintball business in Utah failed and he filed for bankruptcy.[4]

Sheriff of Pinal County (2017-2024)

In 2017, Lamb was elected to succeed Paul Babeu as Pinal County sheriff.[5]

Prior to its cancellation in 2020, Lamb frequently appeared on the TV series Live PD.[6][4] Lamb also hosted Live PD: Wanted, a spinoff show.[4] In 2019, he also featured in Season 5 of 60 Days In, in which seven volunteers went undercover in the Pinal County Jail for 60 days to collect insight into jail operations.[7] Lamb frequently appears on Fox News and Newsmax TV.[4] According to Media Matters, Lamb has appeared on five separate shows hosted by supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory,and has referenced the QAnon slogan "Where We Go One,We Go All."[8][9] [10]

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb speaking with attendees at an event for Jason Beck at TYR Tactical in Peoria, Arizona.

In November 2019, Lamb called for increased security along the Mexico–United States border to combat drug cartels from harming U.S. national parks.[11]

In May 2020, Lamb stated he would not enforce a stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic on the basis that he believed it was unconstitutional. In June 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19 a week before his scheduled appearance at the White House for Donald Trump's signing of executive order 13925.[3]

In July 2020, in response to the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Lamb announced his intention to form a civilian posse of non-felon volunteers with four hours of training in legal guidelines and basic police tactics.[12][4] No protests occurred in Pinal County in summer 2020.[4]

In 2018, Lamb established the American Sheriff Foundation, a charity.[13] In August 2020, The Arizona Republic reported that the charity had raised more than $50,000 but left at least $18,000 unaccounted for and filed largely blank tax filings.[13] In 2024, the nonprofit lost its status and was dissolved after Lamb admitted to failing to follow Arizona laws that required disclosure of his past bankruptcy and not filing required reports, which was revealed when Open Records Requests filed by American Oversight went unfulfilled.[14][15]

Lamb in 2021 at AmericaFest

In 2020, Lamb spoke at a convention of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, an organization that holds the fringe legal theory[16] that sheriffs are the supreme legal authority in the United States and are not required to enforce laws they believe to be unconstitutional.[4] He has also appeared alongside the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In 2024, FAIR announced that Lamb would be working as a "Law Enforcment Advisor" for the group. [10] Lamb ran unopposed for re-election in November 2020 after successfully suing to remove his competition from the ballot.[3]

Lamb endorsing Donald Trump

Lamb is a supporter of the Stop the Steal movement.[4] Following the 2021 United States Capitol attack by supporters of Donald Trump, he spoke at a rally where he said the protest was not Trump's fault but rather caused by "the other issues that have happened – the Hillary Clintons that have gone unpunished".[17] He later described the people as "very loving, Christian people."[4]

In February 2021, Lamb co-founded (with Republican strategist Nathan Sproul and others) Protect America Now, a coalition of 69 sheriffs with the stated purpose of "educating Americans about how our Sheriffs and the law enforcement community are standing for our Constitution and law and order".[4] In May 2021, Lamb launched the American Sheriff Network, a subscription service providing videos showing sheriffs and their deputies carrying out their duties.[4]

Lamb is the author of American Sheriff: Traditional Values in a Modern World, which was self-published.[4]

In December 2022, a spokesperson for Lamb said he was considering running for the U.S. Senate in 2024.[18] In April 2023, Lamb announced he would run for the seat held by incumbent Democrat-turned Independent Kyrsten Sinema.[19] In July 2024, Lamb was defeated in the Republican primary by Kari Lake.[20]

2026 Congressional run

In October 2025, after incumbent representative Andy Biggs chose not to seek re-election and to run for governor of Arizona, Lamb entered the Republican primary to succeed Biggs,[21] running on a platform of traditional values, demanding a "national revival of faith, family, freedom" and guns and denouncing "America's moral decay".[22][23][24] He received the endorsements of President Donald Trump and Turning Point USA.[23][24] In July 2026, amid multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power that he denied,[22][25][23][24] Lamb won the primary against self-funding businessman Daniel Keenan with 58.5% of the vote to Keenan's 41.6%.[26]

Multiple women accused Lamb of sending them explicit photos and sexually charged messages. Another woman said that Lamb had threatened her with felony revenge porn charges if she posted about their relationship. The sexually charged messages are public records in Pinal County and were independently verified by the Arizona Republic and KTAR News 92.3 FM. Lamb did not deny any specific claims against him, but his campaign said that many claims were "baseless and harmful".[25][27] The Pinal County Attorney's Office concluded a review of materials submitted to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors in 2020 and June 2026 with the finding of "no evidence that Lamb acted in a criminal manner".[27]

Personal life

Lamb's wife, Janel, is the author of a book titled The Sheriff's Wife, and frequently appears alongside him at public events.[4]On December 16, 2022, Lamb's son, Cooper, daughter-in-law, and infant granddaughter died in a traffic collision in Gilbert, Arizona.[28]

Religion

Lamb is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[4]

Electoral history

Pinal County Sheriff election, 2016, Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Lamb 17,723 62.21%
Republican Steve Henry 10,578 37.13%
Write-in 188 0.66%
Total votes 28,489 100.00%
Pinal County Sheriff election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Lamb 72,039 57.90%
Democratic Kaye Dickson 52,060 41.84%
Write-in 324 0.26%
Total votes 124,423 100.00%
Republican hold
Pinal County Sheriff election, 2020, Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Lamb (incumbent) 38,714 99.12%
Write-in 343 0.88%
Total votes 39,057 100.00%
Pinal County Sheriff election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Lamb (incumbent) 141,325 97.29%
Write-in 3,933 2.71%
Total votes 145,258 100.00%
Republican hold
2024 United States Senate election in Arizona, Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kari Lake 405,837 55.4%
Republican Mark Lamb 289,407 39.5%
Republican Elizabeth Jean Reye 37,972 5.2%
Total votes 733,216 100.0%
U.S. House Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Lamb 43,377 58.4
Republican Daniel Keenan 30,837 41.6
Total votes 74,214 100.0

See also

References

  1. ↑ @sherifflamb1 (July 15, 2019). "Hahaha! I'm actually 47 🤠" (Tweet). Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ "Ross Teeple sworn in as Pinal County Sheriff-Elect". News4Tuscon. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Zaveri, Mihir (June 18, 2020). "A Sheriff Who Defied Arizona's Lockdown Is Infected With the Coronavirus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pishko, Jessica (October 15, 2021). "He Calls Himself the 'American Sheriff.' Whose Law Is He Following?". Politico. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  5. ↑ Dale, Mariana (March 30, 2017). "Pinal County Sheriff Must Balance Demands Of Rural, Growing Community". Fronteras. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  6. ↑ Dillingham, Jared (October 25, 2019). "Pinal County sheriff balances TV and law enforcement duties". AZFamily. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  7. ↑ Jensen, K. Thor (June 18, 2020). "A GOP sheriff who vowed not to enforce Arizona's lockdown tested positive for COVID-19 during a White House visit". Insider. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ Hananoki, Eric (February 9, 2023). "Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb builds his right-wing media brand as he considers a Senate run". Media Matters. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  9. ↑ Knefel, John (April 19, 2023). "Arizona Senate candidate Mark Lamb has appeared on at least five shows hosted by QAnon conspiracy theorists". Media Matters. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  10. 1 2 Kieffer, Caleb (January 9, 2025). "Anti-Immigrant Group FAIR Taps Controversial Former Sheriff to Serve in Adviser Role". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  11. ↑ Musto, Julia (November 14, 2019). "Sheriff calls for tougher border security to stop Mexico cartels poisoning US national parks". Fox News. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  12. ↑ Alana Minkler (July 31, 2020). "Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb discusses citizen posse in response to protests". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 6, 2020. Pinal County already has a patrol posse that is armed and assists deputies by booking people in jail. Other police agencies have a similar citizen's academy.
  13. 1 2 Oxford, Andrew. "Charity founded by Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has $18,000 in unaccounted spending". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Pinal County Sheriff's Office Admits It Failed to Properly Comply with Arizona Public Records Law". American Oversight. December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Sheriff Mark Lamb's nonprofit loses federal and state status after administrative missteps". AZ Luminaria. December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  16. ↑ Pishko, Jessica (January 13, 2023). "The fringe ideology of "constitutional sheriffs" is attracting believers within Texas law enforcement". The Texas Tribune.
  17. ↑ Oxford, Andrew (January 7, 2021). "Among some in Arizona GOP, siege of the US Capitol was everyone's fault except Trump". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  18. ↑ Kapur, Sahil (December 9, 2022). "Sinema's decision to quit the Democratic Party jolts Arizona 2024 Senate race". NBC News. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  19. ↑ Hansen, Ronald J. (April 11, 2023). "Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb enters US Senate race for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's seat". The Arizona Republic. USA Today. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  20. ↑ Tabet, Alex (July 31, 2024). "Kari Lake wins Arizona GOP Senate primary, setting up a key race against Democrat Ruben Gallego". NBC News. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  21. ↑ Gersony, Laura (October 21, 2025). "Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb will run for East Valley congressional seat". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  22. 1 2 Anglen, Robert; Gersony, Laura (May 20, 2026). "Who is Mark Lamb? Ex-Arizona sheriff campaigns on family, God and guns". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  23. 1 2 3 Howard, Andrew; Benson, Samuel (July 16, 2026). "A Trump-backed Arizona candidate faces tough House primary after sex scandals". Politico. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
  24. 1 2 3 Bidgood, Jess (July 20, 2026). "Will a Sex Scandal Matter in an Arizona House Race?". The New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  25. 1 2 Anglen, Robert; Gersony, Laura (June 19, 2026). "Why Mark Lamb's friend broke silence on sex claims". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  26. ↑ Benson, Samuel (July 21, 2026). "Mark Lamb wins Arizona House primary despite sex scandals". Politico. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  27. 1 2 Iversen, David (June 23, 2026). "Pinal County Attorney clears Mark Lamb of criminal wrongdoing, closes investigation". KTAR News 92.3 FM. Retrieved July 22, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Son, grandchild of Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb killed in Gilbert crash Friday". ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix (KNXV). December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.