Stephen Shadegg, director for Americans for Prosperity, recently talked about Arizona's 5th Congressional District race with Cactus Politics. The conversation focused on candidate Mark Lamb's expected endorsement from President Donald Trump and its possible impact on the Republican primary in the district.
Former Pinal County Sheriff Lamb is considered the frontrunner in Arizona's 5th Congressional District after Representative Andy Biggs announced he would run for governor.
Lamb announced his campaign on October 22 and faces a Republican primary race against former NFL kicker Jay Feely, former State Representative Travis Grantham, and businessman Daniel Keenan. His campaign focuses on immigration enforcement and conservative values.
Shadegg noted the endorsement could influence the race dynamics in a district where the Republican primary effectively determines the general election outcome.
"It definitely changes it, obviously it changes up the numbers," Shadegg said. "You're looking at a district that's a very strong Republican district, which we're only talking about a primary election that really matters. I think it divides the vote up amongst supporters of Lamb and Jay Feely and Grantham."
Trump Endorsement
Even with a potential presidential endorsement, Shadegg believes voters will make their own choices based on the candidates, not just on who Donald Trump supports.
"Donald Trump is the president. He's not running for CD6," Shadegg explained. "To connect a candidate who is running to CD6 and the voters directly to a president who's endorsed him, it's basically saying like, well, this might as well be Donald Trump running the district, and it's not."
He emphasized that Arizona voters have shown they don't automatically follow Trump endorsements. "A Trump endorsement carries weight because it's the president of the United States and it's Donald Trump," he said. "But do I think it wins a race just by having the endorsement? No, because it's Arizona, and there's a relatively long record of being endorsed by Trump in Arizona that doesn't always lead to a victory."
According to Shadegg, the race will be determined by which candidate voters believe best represents their values.
"People do have to make a decision based off of the candidate they feel like is best aligned with their values," he said. "And I think that's what we'll see in the election."
