A MAGA candidate running for Congress on a family values platform has been accused of destroying his best friend’s marriage by introducing him to a swinger lifestyle.
That is one of many sordid claims hanging over the campaign of the Trump-endorsed Mark Lamb, 53, who is the favorite to represent Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, which includes a portion of Pinal County, where he was sheriff for eight years.
Lamb is accused of roping his pal Matt Hilsabeck into a years-long affair with his wife without permission from Hilsabeck’s spouse, which not only led to his friend’s divorce, but also a probe by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an investigation by the Arizona Republic has revealed.
Jillian Stannard, Hilsabeck’s ex-wife, said Lamb “got in her face” when she sent sexual material, including a photo of Lamb’s penis, to church officials as part of their probe. The Republic writes that he then “threatened her, telling her there would be consequences.”
“Whatever you and Matt are dealing with has collateral damage,” he said, according to Stannard.
Another woman has accused the self-described “family man” of sending explicit messages and then proceeding to make threats against them.
A woman shared screenshots of Facebook messages with the Republic in which Lamb allegedly texted through an intermediary that he would “call DPS,” referring to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, if she posted his explicit images—something he allegedly equated to revenge porn.
Lamb then promised to personally halt any state criminal probe into the woman if she took down her posts.
“I will ask for them not to proceed,” he allegedly wrote. “My wife says she is okay with that too.”
The Republic reported that the same woman, Tammy Peacock, had messages with Lamb that suggested they had a years-long affair and that she even had a sheriff’s badge with his name on it tattooed on her.
“I love that tattoo,” Lamb allegedly messaged her in 2016, reportedly adding a wink emoji. “Nobody can top my favorite supporter!”
In his book, Lamb claimed that he was “mortified” when he learned of the tattoo.
Peacock died in a car crash in 2021, but left a digital trail of allegations and complaints against the then-sheriff, according to the Republic’s investigation. She reportedly called him a “f-----g joke” and a womanizer a week before she died.
Screenshots of explicit images and messages purportedly sent by Lamb to other women were also shared with the newspaper.
Among them, according to the Republic: “A close-up picture of a penis with an offer to measure it; a similar penis picture he showed off on his phone; a photo of an unidentified couple having intercourse with a text telling the recipient to ‘think about that being you,’ punctuated with a devil emoji.”
Some of the messages were shared with the Republic by a former campaign staffer who had access to Lamb’s campaign social media accounts, according to the report.
Andrew Gould, a former Arizona Supreme Court justice now working for Lamb’s campaign, told the Republic that the rumors had “circulated online for years” but are “without verification” and are meant to “cause great reputational and political harm.” Gould did not respond to an email seeking additional comment.
Lamb and his wife, Janel, are not new to big-time politics. Lamb ran for U.S. Senate in 2024, but finished second in the GOP primary to top Trump ally Kari Lake. Janel even published a memoir, The Sheriff’s Wife: Holding It All Together Behind the Scenes in Politics.
The MAGA couple, who have posed next to President Donald Trump and visited Mar-a-Lago, are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, the Republic reports that they are “open with a close circle of friends about their sexual activity and partners.”
Among the images published by the Republic was a shirtless selfie of Lamb flexing.
Stannard, who says her marriage crumbled because of Janel’s affair with her ex-husband, alleged that Lamb went as far as showing her a black-and-white photo of his penis.
Allegations of sexual impropriety date back to Lamb’s time as sheriff, with the issues arising during his 2020 re-election campaign.
Back then, a “political rival” of Lamb sent out mailers that called him a “sexual predator” and a “pervert.” The rival also placed fliers on cars of county residents that claimed he was “sending pornographic pictures of himself to women and has made threats against those who complain.”
Similar claims have been made in legal documents, too, according to the Daily Mail.
Beth Goulden, chair of the Arizona Sex Offender Management Board, reportedly alleged in a sexual discrimination filing that the Pinal County Prosecuting Attorney Brad Miller said, “Mark and Janel are swingers,” and that he “sends dick pics to women.”
Lamb addressed the allegations in January, dismissing them as a political hit job.
“You’re in politics, people say nasty stuff about you all the time,” he told the Phoenix New Times by phone. “Unfortunately, most of it is untruthful, if not 95 percent of it.”
In that same interview, Lamb said he has been monogamous with his wife of three decades.
“I’ve been with one woman in my life, and that was my wife,” he said. “That’s it.”
He reportedly added that he will likely be answering the same sort of questions regarding his personal life “when I’m 80 years old.”
