By Emma Whitney/Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is continuing to campaign for Congress on a pro-MAGA platform with President Donald Trump’s seal of approval.
But Trump’s endorsement, calling Lamb a “MAGA Warrior” who “WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN,” is from last November, long before Lamb became embroiled in scandal.
The text messages that show sexual impropriety, threats against an ex-lover, and use of racist language stand in contrast to the public image Lamb has projected as a man of faith and traditional values.
Many voters do feel let down, according to Lamb’s detractors, and some Republicans have distanced themselves.
So far, Trump has not.
He only rarely abandons candidates. When he does, it’s almost always over perceived disloyalty rather than scandal, though he did rescind an endorsement Wednesday in Oklahoma after a congressional candidate who had founded Pastors for Trump was caught up in a texting scandal.
“It’s rare that he totally rescinds an endorsement,” said Matthew Klein, an analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
He noted that Lamb was an outspoken supporter of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, “a very visceral issue for Donald Trump.” Given that Lamb has also been a strong frontrunner, Klein added, “I have a hard time believing that he would withdraw his support.”
Scrutiny on Lamb increased on Wednesday after The Arizona Republic published an interview with a friend and former employee, Matt Hilsabeck, describing Lamb’s active sex life outside marriage.
Lamb is seeking the House seat that Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, is giving up to run for governor. Opponent Daniel Keenan is running a television ad that calls him “a disgrace, an embarrassment, and unfit for office.”
So far, Lamb has resisted calls to explain or apologize.
On June 3, he reposted Trump’s November endorsement with no indication it was months old or predated the scandal. The president’s political operation has expressed no objection, at least not publicly, though Trump has yet to affirm the endorsement, either.
In general, Trump has a long record of looking the other way when loyalists are accused of misconduct.
Early in his second term, Trump stood by Pete Hegseth after revelations that his pick to lead the Pentagon had once paid a woman $50,000 to settle allegations of sexual assault.
In Texas, Trump-backed Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP primary runoff on May 26. Cornyn was mostly loyal to Trump but not nearly as much of a MAGA warrior.
Paxton had filed one of the lawsuits in 2020 to overturn the election and spoke at the Jan. 6, 2021, rally before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. He has also been embroiled in more scandals than most: his wife is divorcing him on grounds of adultery, he survived charges for securities fraud, and an impeachment by the GOP-controlled Texas House.
Despite all that, one week before the primary, Trump threw his weight behind Paxton, writing on Truth Social that Paxton had “gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN.” As with Lamb, he assured voters that Paxton would “NEVER LET YOU DOWN.”
Weeks before the 2024 election, Trump resisted pleas from allies to rescind his endorsement of a North Carolina nominee for governor, Mark Robinson, after revelations he’d posted offensive comments on a porn site.
In late 2017, Trump endorsed former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore in a tight U.S. Senate contest – after eight women accused Moore of sexual misconduct. Some had been teens at the time of the events.
The Lamb scandal has spilled into the July 21 Republican gubernatorial primary, with Rep. David Schweikert of Fountain Hills chastising rival Biggs for failing to repudiate Lamb’s conduct.
Biggs’ silence, Schweikert said in a radio interview, is “bordering on immoral.”
Biggs, who is also endorsed by Trump, told the AZ Political Podcast on KTAR 92.3 FM that he is “reserving judgment.” In April, before Lamb’s text messages surfaced, he told GOP voters at a candidate forum that Lamb would be a “great member” of the House Freedom Caucus, a far-right congressional bloc.
Schweikert told Cronkite News in a brief interview that while voters “are remarkably forgiving,” that requires contrition and candor Lamb hasn’t shown. “Stand up, come clean, or leave,” he said recently on KTAR News.
No guarantee
Trump’s endorsement is no guarantee in primaries, but Republicans crave and fear it.
On Tuesday, Tulsa pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, founder of Pastors for Trump, secured a spot in an Oklahoma congressional runoff, despite a Daily Mail report two days earlier about improper texts with a campaign aide and former Miss Oklahoma USA. On Wednesday, Trump switched his endorsement to Lahmeyer’s rival. Lahmeyer dropped out within minutes.
In Arizona, Trump not only endorsed Lamb, but he also dangled the prospect of an endorsement to another candidate to clear the field for Lamb. Jay Feely initially wanted Biggs’ seat, too; the 5th Congressional District on the east side of the Valley is a Republican stronghold. Now Feely is running for Schweikert’s district, which is much more of a toss-up.
In Georgia’s primary on Tuesday, businessman Rick Jackson overcame Trump’s endorsement of his rival, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
“Rick Jackson came out of nowhere and dropped more than $93 million from his own personal bank account,” Klein said. “But Jackson himself was also very pro-Trump.”
The Georgia primary illustrated another Trump habit: withholding an endorsement until it’s pretty clear who’ll win. He waited until 48 hours before Election Day to endorse Rep. Mike Collins in the U.S. Senate race.
“There have been cases where he’ll jump on the bandwagon of a candidate who already looks like they’re likely to win” and “then try to claim credit,” said Boston College political scientist David Hopkins.
Scandalous screenshots
The Lamb controversy centers on leaked screenshots of messages he sent around 2019, when he was still sheriff of Pinal County.
The texts show him threatening to have a woman with whom he was having an affair arrested if she shared their messages publicly.
Other women also received messages with sexually explicit content from Lamb. He also used the n-word in conversation with a member of a border vigilante group.
A former aide found some of the messages and reported them to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.
This is not the first time Lamb has been embroiled in a sexual scandal.
In social media posts in June 2018, the ex-wife of one of Lamb’s friends, Jillian Stannard, alleged that he had sent nude photographs of his wife to her ex, Matt Hilsabeck.
Stannard insinuated that the Lambs and her ex-husband had sexual relations during an overnight trip to Texas. She reported her allegations to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. LDS church officials investigated and decided not to take action against Lamb.
The allegations contradict Lamb’s traditional, family man persona. His campaign website pledges include “STANDING FOR FAMILY … FOR GOD … FOR FREEDOM.”
He has played up his devout faith and affiliation with the LDS church, where he served as a lay minister and Sunday school teacher. The former sheriff also has cultivated a tough, cowboy-style image online, sharing photos of himself on patrol at the border.
His campaign website features images of him with the president. Their relationship goes back several years. In 2020, Lamb drew national headlines when he contracted COVID-19 at a Trump rally.
The Trump endorsement remains splashed across the homepage, along with other big endorsements from Turning Point USA and the House Freedom Fund.
Barnes noted that Keenan has enough money to hammer Lamb over the scandal, and the ads “are pretty damning.”
Another Arizona strategist, Democrat Stacy Pearson, agreed that the allegations have hurt.
“This is a community that has something even more definitive than a line in the sand – it is a hard line, and when politicians cross it, that congressional district doesn’t forget,” she said. “If I was Mark Lamb, I would certainly be concerned, even with the Trump endorsement.”
