Ex-sheriff backed by Trump storms to victory in race to replace longtime GOP firebrand

Mark Lamb, a sheriff with the backing of President Donald Trump, won a GOP primary on Tuesday evening to fill the seat of outgoing Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., in the Grand Canyon State’s fifth congressional district.

The victory puts Lamb on a trajectory to win the seat in November which, in the past, has heavily leaned Republican.

Lamb has framed his race as part of a larger effort to protect the cultural fabric of the country, championing "God, family freedom."

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"That’s why I’m running for Congress. We gotta make sure our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren have the same freedoms that we have," Lamb said in a campaign video.

The seat came open when Biggs, R-Ariz., announced he would run for governor last year.

"Arizona has a bright future, but we will need strong leadership to reach its full potential," Biggs said in a press release. "I have been honored to serve Arizona at the state and federal levels and will bring my experience home to my native state to help fulfill its tremendous capacity."

The seat is one of the state’s most reliably Republican — and became more so after the state’s redistricting in 2022. Biggs last won reelection in 2024 in a 60.4% to 39.6% victory over Democratic challenger Katrina Schaffner.

During his time in office, Biggs was one of Trump’s most prominent backers, pushing for aggressive conservative stances on areas like federal spending and border enforcement.

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For his own part, Lamb has echoed many of Biggs’ priorities.

"The Joe Biden administration came in, and immediately, overnight, we started seeing hundreds of thousands of people — the majority of these men were military-age men from all over the world. Many of them didn’t love America," Lamb said in a campaign video.

"We stood by as our government not only allowed them to come in but rolled out the red carpet for people that broke our law."

Lamb’s campaign came under scrutiny earlier this year when an Arizona investigation found that Lamb allegedly had a track record of sending sexual images to women outside of his marriage.

Janel Lamb, Mark Lamb’s wife, has called the accusations a political stunt.

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"Politics can be dark and ugly, but if you know us, you know that’s not how we roll. The only way to dispel darkness is not with more darkness, only light. After all we’ve been through, a massive smear campaign is certainly not going to stop us from doing what we know is right," Janel Lamb said in a post to Facebook.

Having cleared the primary, Lamb will head to the general election on Nov. 3.