Only one Republican showed up to the debate stage to argue why they were worthy to represent the 5th Congressional District on Thursday.
Daniel Keenan — a lifelong Christian and blue collar worker and founder of DK Builders — addressed voters for 30 minutes in a one-on-one with the Arizona Clean Elections Commission. Mark Lamb, a Mormon and former sheriff of Pinal County, declined to appear amid the fallout over his recently exposed affairs.
Alone on stage for half an hour, Keenan went over his proposals and views on the biggest and most pressing issues of policy for Arizonans.
“The stock market may hit new highs and Wall Street may be doing great, but that’s not everything that matters to me if the working families of this district and across America find homeownership unattainable, and our seniors struggle to pay for their medicines while the rest of the world freeloads off their suffering, and if young college graduates can’t find a job that allows them to start a family while corporate America achieves record profits by importing millions of foreign workers,” said Keenan.
On the job market: Keenan criticized the continued federal permissiveness allowing the steady importation of foreign workers.
“We have corporations who are giving millions and millions of jobs away to foreigners all over the world through the H-1B visa program. Every H-1B job that is given is a stolen opportunity from an American. It undercuts our wages, and it also puts a squeeze on our housing supply, because let’s face it – those foreigners have to live somewhere,” said Keenan.
Keenan said there wasn’t a workforce shortage, but rather a broken system where employers were permitted to hire foreign workers and illegal aliens for impermissibly low wages.
“The days of our sons and daughters being pushed out of medical careers and Americans being forced to train their H-1B replacement is going to end, and I’m going to fight to make that happen,” said Keenan.
On government spending: Keenan commended the Department of Government Efficiency as a good start to targeting waste, fraud, and abuse. However, Keenan said the federal government had further to go and specifically called on them to bring down energy prices. Keenan said he trusted Trump, but advocated for expanding energy sources and deprioritizing green energy approaches.
On Arizona’s water crisis: Keenan said Arizona’s ongoing water crisis requires a federal solution, referencing the Hoover Dam as a historical example of federal involvement.
Keenan said he would advocate for building more pipelines, bringing more desalination plants online, and cutting regulations to fast-track a restoration and work toward a surplus in Arizona’s water supply.
On Arizona’s housing crisis: Per Keenan, multiple issues are to blame for the state’s housing crisis: shortage of homes, affordability, and regulations. Keenan tied the shortage and affordability to the ongoing immigration crisis. Keenan also proposed slashing regulations to allow for growth.
“Do we really have a shortage of homes, or do we have millions and millions of people who shouldn’t be here?” asked Keenan.
On Trump: Keenan expressed support for the president. He said many of the discomforts faced by Americans are the residual effects of the former administration, and the felt effects of the efforts it takes to clean those policies up.
On healthcare: Keenan promised to introduce a “simple, one-page bill” to require drug companies to give Americans the same lower pricing for medicines that they do in other countries.
On veterans: Keenan promised to hire two full-time district staffers tasked solely with helping veterans. Keenan said he would fight to expand healthcare options for veterans beyond what the Veterans Affairs allows.
On education: Keenan said education models were the decision of the states, and ultimately parents should be supported in their freedom to choose their child’s education. Keenan promised to defend the current universal status of school choice in Arizona, and would work to expand it nationwide.
“I think parents know what’s best for their children, not a Washington, D.C. bureaucrat or some state lobby,” said Keenan.
On elections: Keenan criticized Lamb for not standing with Trump concerning the 2020 election. He accused Lamb of siding with Democrats to certify “those fraudulent results.”
Keenan said there were various problems with the 2020 election that occurred but weren’t fully or properly investigated.
“There was fraud in our election. It was a rigged election. And I’ll tell you why: we had tech oligarchs that were suppressing the news, if you remember the famous ‘laptop from hell.’ They admitted to suppressing that weeks before the election,” said Keenan.
Keenan proposed a stringent defense of voter ID laws and stricter requirements for proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
It appears Lamb no-showed the debate due to the recent allegations of sexual impropriety, which Keenan called “disqualifying.”
Lamb is accused of threatening women with revenge porn charges to prevent them from speaking out about his sexting, according to reporting by The Arizona Republic.
Multiple women have alleged to have had affairs with Lamb, who has been married for over 30 years. It is alleged that Lamb and his wife, Janel, are “swingers” — a couple who engages in an open relationship.
At least one marriage was allegedly destroyed by the Lambs’ swinger lifestyle. One woman said that Lamb caused her divorce by influencing her husband, Matt Hilsabeck, to enter a swinger lifestyle with Lamb’s wife, Janel.
Documents obtained by the Arizona Republic found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints investigated but refused to act on the complaints because of the political benefits provided by the Lambs.
Despite the plethora of text and video evidence of multiple affairs, Lamb has denied the allegations and claimed complete monogamy.
Lamb issued a cease and desist against Keenan for amplifying the allegations against him.
President Donald Trump may pull his endorsement of Lamb due to the allegations against him, according to new reporting this week.
Keenan accused Lamb of “recycling” Trump’s endorsement this week in an attempt to prevent that revocation.
Mark Lamb is recycling old endorsements.
Your scandal-ridden campaign risks pulling down the whole GOP ticket. https://t.co/IW98aYwBNJ pic.twitter.com/vaJIbskozL
— Daniel Keenan (@DK_ForCongress) June 3, 2026
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