Lamb Toying with Congressional Run in CD5

After months of flirting with the idea of running for Congress, former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is readying to jump into the race for the US House seat currently held by Andy Biggs.

Lamb has spent much of the year telling friends and supporters that he would not run and that he was focused on starting some new ventures with family members, but the allure of Washington DC may have won over the popular Sheriff, whose cowboy hat is a fixture on various conservative media outlets.

Lamb served two terms as Sheriff, during which time he built a strong public following through his social media channels, his work on the television programs Live PD and its spinoff Live PD: Wanted, and appearances on news channels across the country.

He ran for the US Senate in 2024 against Kari Lake but lost the primary after Donald Trump endorsed Lake.

Lamb would be joining a relatively small field that includes two MAGA candidates — former lawmaker and combat veteran Travis Grantham and homebuilder Daniel Keenan, and the more moderate Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker who also spent years on CBS as a color commentator for NFL games.

“I think Lamb running will be a real surprise to everyone who believed him when he kept saying no, but we should never be surprised when a successful long-time politician decides to run for higher office,” observed one Republican operative, who felt the race would come down to Feely’s money versus Lamb’s or Grantham’s MAGA support. “The danger to the America First side is that they’ll have three candidates now splitting that vote, which gives Feely a chance to build a more moderate coalition and prevail.”

Others believe that Lamb would start the race as the immediate favorite and, with one particular endorsement, could end the race early. “We don’t know if Trump would support Lamb because he didn’t in 2024 and Lamb has never actually endorsed Trump in his primaries either. But Trump does love celebrity candidates and Lamb is on TV an awful lot, so if Trump gives Lamb the nod, then this race may effectively be over before it starts.”

It is uncertain when Lamb will file the necessary paperwork to begin his campaign, but on a recent appearance on FlashPoint, Lamb said that he “had an awakening in my soul and there’s a fight to be had…. Washington needs more cowboy hats and belt buckles so I’m strongly considering getting into this Congressional race…”