Allegations of threatening women, sexual impropriety and racist comments have disrupted congressional candidate Mark Lamb’s campaign as fellow Republicans call his conduct into question.
An investigation by The Arizona Republic caught Lamb’s longtime allies by surprise. It prompted renewed inquiries into his behavior and sparked calls for the former sheriff to leave the race.
The self-described “America’s Sheriff” is running for Congress with President Donald Trump’s endorsement on a platform of “faith, family and freedom.” He wants to replace U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs in a conservative East Valley district.
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But Biggs, who has not endorsed Lamb, said through a spokesperson the allegations are “concerning.”
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert went even further, saying the former sheriff must explain himself or drop out of the race.
“This is more than the preservation of winning a Republican seat. This is our credibility as a party,” Schweikert said. “We hold ourselves out to be moral actors. … Just because they’re a Republican doesn’t mean this is acceptable.”
The two Arizona congressmen, who are both running for governor, were the first GOP elected officials to publicly question Lamb.
Meanwhile, Lamb’s Republican opponent, business owner Daniel Keenan, released a scathing video advertisement displaying screenshots published by The Republic, including shirtless photos of Lamb and sexually charged text messages. Many of them are censored.
“Mark Lamb is a disgrace, an embarrassment, and unfit for office,” the ad said.
Keenan has ample resources to publicize the attack, with more than $1.2 million on hand as of late March. His campaign blasted the ad across local TV outlets, including Fox News, sending similar messages via text to Republican primary voters, and distributing the ad on social media, political consultant Matt Braynard said.
The political fallout for Lamb may extend further.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a key constituency within the district Lamb is running to represent. LDS officials investigated allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him by another church member.
The allegations are “unfortunate for everyone,” said Bob Worsley, a former state senator, LDS Church member and entrepreneur who founded the in-flight magazine SkyMall.
“If any of the rumors are true, it puts him, his family, voters, and our Church in a very tough and awkward spot,” he said.
Former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake said the threats women accuse Lamb of making are not just a moral failing but “an abuse of power.”
“It’s more than concerning. It’s disqualifying,” he said.
Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller, a fellow Republican and Trump supporter, said he has assigned an investigator to review the claims surrounding Lamb.
What The Arizona Republic investigation found about Mark Lamb
The Republic found a cache of screenshots, photos and documents.
Women said the materials support their allegations Lamb tried to quiet them to hide a history of sexting and nude photo-sharing.
Other messages from his 2016 campaign for sheriff showed Lamb laughed and made a racist joke when a border extremist used the N-word.
Lamb’s campaign has responded to the allegations mostly with silence. The former sheriff and his aides have repeatedly declined comment to The Republic since April 15.
His campaign on May 27 told Fox 10 Phoenix that the racist text messages were “10 years old” and questioned the identity of the person Lamb exchanged messages with. They did not deny the exchange.
In a May 28 Facebook post, Lamb’s wife, Janel, said they were being subjected to a “massive smear campaign.”
“Politics can be dark and ugly, but if you know us, you know that’s not how we roll,” she wrote. “The only way to dispel darkness is not with more darkness, only light.”
The campaign also has not publicly denied any specific allegations cited in The Republic’s investigation.
In April, lawyers for Lamb’s campaign said many of the claims against him were “baseless and harmful” but offered no specifics.
Mark Lamb allegations become wedge issue in governor’s race
The allegations against Lamb have become a wedge issue in Arizona’s highly watched governor’s race.
Schweikert was the first to come out against Lamb’s behavior.
“This isn’t acceptable,” he told The Republic.
“How do you stand up in front of … a faith community, and then say, ‘This is the type of thing I’m endorsing’?”
Schweikert took aim at Biggs, saying Lamb and Biggs are “joined at the hip” and calling on his rival to disavow the behavior, too.
Both Biggs and Lamb are allies of Trump and the right-wing group Turning Point. They have appeared together at campaign rallies, fundraisers and other events, and Lamb has endorsed Biggs’ campaign for governor.
“I fear we’ve become numb to things that in the past would have been unacceptable,” Schweikert said. “Are we fearful of the Trump endorsement? Are we fearful of the attacks you get from the (online) bots, from Turning Point?”
Biggs’ campaign shot back that Schweikert was using the allegations for political gain.
“It’s disappointing to see our friend David use this concerning story to cynically try and improve his own political standing,” spokesperson Drew Sexton said in a written statement.
“Congressman Biggs committed to not endorsing in the 5th Congressional District and he stands by that pledge. He trusts that voters in the district will ultimately make the best decision.”
In a radio interview, Biggs said he was reserving judgment on the allegations since he hadn’t heard from Lamb directly.
Other Republicans have continued to remain quiet on the issue. GOP U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani’s office did not return a request for comment on the allegations. In 2025, he had praised Lamb’s tenure as sheriff in a House floor speech.
Fallout from LDS community over Republic’s reporting on Mark Lamb
The allegations have roiled LDS political circles, a traditionally conservative community that embraces religious and family values.
The claims against Lamb are serious, Flake said, “particularly the allegations that he was willing to use the office that he held to threaten to go after somebody who was publishing information against him.”
The LDS Church has occasionally condemned politicians and public figures accused of violating its teachings. One of the church’s top leaders in 2019 denounced Paul Petersen, the former Maricopa County assessor, who was convicted of human smuggling and fraud as part of an illegal adoption scheme.
Ronald Rasband, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, told The Republic that Petersen’s scheme was “sickening” and membership in the church did not exonerate his conduct.
But in general, the church is constrained from talking about their members’ affairs due to clergy privilege, the oath of confidentiality between a religious leader and congregant.
A spokesperson for the LDS Church had previously declined comment about the allegations against Lamb, saying, “The Church does not share information about an individual’s membership status.”
Spokesperson Jennifer Wheeler said the church would not address one woman’s claims that her complaints were buried to protect Lamb. She said officials would not comment on specific communications. After the stories published, she said the church still would not comment.
Claims against Mark Lamb spark new Pinal County attorney inquiry
Pinal County officials have announced plans to revisit the claims surrounding Lamb.
Former County Attorney Kent Volkmer told The Republic that Lamb sought to have two women investigated over their social media posts about Lamb and asked Volkmer to “explore” criminal harassment charges.
Both women claimed Lamb threatened or intimidated them to keep them from talking and posting about what they knew.
Volkmer said his office did a “cursory investigation,” but no charges were ever filed.
Miller, his successor, said he would review what if any actions were taken by Volkmer’s team.
Miller’s office said in a statement that the inquiry was a “preliminary investigation focused on fact gathering, records review, and determining the existence and scope of any prior inquiry.”
“Our office will seek and review any reports, investigative materials, correspondence, memoranda, or other records related to these allegations,” Miller said.
Lamb has already caused a separate political headache for Miller. The chair of Arizona’s Sex Offender Management Board filed a notice of claim against Miller in January. She accused the conservative prosecutor of workplace harassment, saying Miller had spread rumors that Lamb was a “swinger” and has sent nude photos of himself to women.
Miller has denied those claims.
Some of Lamb’s texts were more personal than political — and they still cut 10 years later. In the same set of exchanges where he made jokes about Black people, the former sheriff belittled a number of Arizona officials.
Doug Wolf, the longtime Pinal County assessor, was one of them.
“We all knew Mark was not that bright, but I didn’t know he was a racist as well,” Wolf told The Republic.
Reporting by Laura Gersony and Robert Anglen, Arizona Republic
