2024 Election: Meet the Arizonans running for the Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema
A Senate seat is up for grabs this election in Arizona. It's a race with massive national implications as it could decide the balance of power.
Could Arizona's next Senator be another term of its current Senator? As the race heats up, all those seeking the seat still are not fully known.
Current Senator Kyrsten Sinema was elected to the Senate in 2018 and is finishing her first term. As a Senator, she switched from being a Democrat to an Independent.
She hasn't made it clear if she's running for re-election.
FOX 10 asked for an interview, but her press secretary simply wrote back, "Kyrsten is focused on delivering real results, like securing our border and keeping Arizonans safe and secure – not campaign politics."
In the Republican primary, former news anchor and failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake will go head-to-head against Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.
Sheriff Mark Lamb
Lamb was a small business owner before being elected sheriff in 2017. He's become vocal about the need for stronger border security.
In a sit-down interview with FOX 10, he shared why he's running.
"As a sheriff, I started seeing that Arizona needs a proven conservative fighter. They need somebody who has been doing the job and understands the issues that we're facing. There's the border, there's crime, there's national security that is intertwined with the border, and the economy, which is becoming the number one issue for us. Not just Arizonans, but Americans. We realized we need to step up," he said.
In addition to stronger border security, Lamb said he wants to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, create energy independence, reduce global and national threats and get the economy on track.
"I've realized I can only do so much on a county level. This has to be taken back to a national level and I hope to be part of the solutions in this country and not part of the problems. I think you need people who understand the nuances of working with other people," Lamb said.
Kari Lake
Former Phoenix news anchor Kari Lake won the Republican primary for governor in 2022, but ultimately lost to current governor Katie Hobbs.
Lake has spent the time since the election embroiled in legal challenges to the election, claiming it was fraudulent.
She said she was unavailable for an in-person interview.
Rep. Ruben Gallego
On the Democratic side is District 3 Congressman Ruben Gallego.
Gallego was deployed to Iraq in 2005 as a marine infantryman. He was elected to Congress in 2014, representing parts of Phoenix, including downtown and some of Glendale.
In a Zoom interview from Washington D.C., Gallego told us why he's running.
"I'm a very lucky man. I've gotten to live the American dream despite coming from some very humble beginnings. Child of immigrants and people that have just worked and live paycheck to paycheck. Now, I'm out there and have been a member of Congress for ten years and have traveled around the state. They're living paycheck to paycheck, and they're worried about their kids, and they feel a lot of elected officials aren't listening to them, don't really feel what they're feeling and don't want to fight for them," Gallego said.
His goals as a senator are to ensure the child tax credit is passed, bring down the cost of housing, and protect our water for the future.
In a divisive Senate, he says both sides can work together.
"Even just a couple of months ago, I passed the American Child Protection Act, a bill initially introduced by John McCain and Don Young. I got it across the table this year but not alone. I did it with the support of Republicans, including the Republican Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee," Gallego said.