by Cameron Arcand
Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb filed to run for Senate in Arizona on Monday.
Lamb has not officially announced, but a filing with the Federal Election Commission marks the formation of his campaign committee.
He has long expressed interest in running for the seat against incumbent Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who is reportedly gearing up for a re-election bid despite leaving the Democratic Party, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. She has not officially announced her decision yet.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Ruben Gallego declared his candidacy in January and has already been campaigning against Sinema.
As far as the Republican primary goes, Lamb is the first major candidate to jump into the race. He was a close ally and surrogate for the Republican nominees in the 2022 midterm election, namely advocating for gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake.
Lake, who lost her bid for governor but is fighting the results in court, has also been reportedly considering a campaign for Senate. Her chief strategist, Colton Duncan, told The Center Square on Friday that Lake and her team are currently focused on the lawsuit but said that “her story has only just begun.”
“Poll after poll after poll proves that voters agree on one thing: they want Kari Lake to dig her heels in and continue to fight for our great Republic,” Duncan said.
The Center Square previously reported that former Arizona Board of Regents member Karrin Taylor Robson is also mulling a bid for the position. Robson ran for governor in the 2022 Republican primary but lost to Lake.
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Cameron Arcand is a contributor to The Center Square.
