Sheriff Lamb on Senate race: ‘Only candidate with boots-on-the-ground experience’

No matter where he’s stopped to campaign for Kyrsten Sinema’s U.S. Senate seat, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb says there are four big issues on Republican voter’s minds: the U.S.-Mexico border, the economy, crime and national security.

“I think the greatest national security issue is the border,” Lamb told InMaricopa Wednesday.

Lamb, who said he is making campaign dates at least three times a week, faces fellow Republican Kari Lake in the Aug. 6 primary election. The top candidate in that race will move on to the Nov. 5 general election against Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego. Sinema has not announced if she will seek re-election.

Lamb most recently visited Maricopa last week, addressing about 150 at Province’s Town Hall.

The 51-year-old Pinal County sheriff since 2017 contends he is the only candidate in the race who has the qualifications to address the issues facing the nation.

“I’m the only candidate with boots-on-the-ground experience,” Lamb said, referring to his law enforcement experience, adding that includes assisting the U.S. Border Patrol with arrests of illegal immigrants. “I’m the only candidate on a daily basis as a sheriff who has actually spent time fighting crime.”

Lamb said the sheriff’s office each week uses its helicopter to help in rescues of immigrants found near death in the county’s high desert. He said he has helped carry the bodies of migrants he has found dead.

“A lot of the times we land or hoist them up into the helicopter and fly them to one of the border patrol stations and turn them over,” he said.

Americans are waking up to the issue of people entering the country illegally, he said.

“We had to pull an old lady out of the mountains,” he said. “We see the women firsthand that have claimed to being raped.”

Lamb admits the sheriff’s office is limited in what it can do to hold illegal immigrants.

“We turn them over to the Border Patrol or ICE if they are in our jail,” he said.

“I pull traffic stops, I chase illegals in Pinal County. I’ve put handcuffs on illegals.”

Drugs, drunken driving, domestic violence, assault and murder are among the crimes committed by people living illegally in Pinal County, he said.

“Just because they are illegal doesn’t mean they are immune from committing those crimes,” he said.

Lamb is lagging behind his primary opponent, Lake, in campaign fundraising, according to the Federal Elections Commission.

In 2024 Lamb has raised $638,939 compared to Lake’s $1.25 million.