Kimberly Tait had been a registered Republican all her life, until she switched her affiliation to independent in 2016.The Gilbert, Ariz., resident always considered herself to be conservative but experienced a political identity crisis because she couldn't bring herself to align with the Republican Party under President Trump."I'm not super progressive politically and I'm really pretty moderate." Tait said."But the MAGA movement in and of itself is — it's just really gross to me."Now Tait — also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — has another politician on her ballot that turns her off: Mark Lamb, the former Pinal County sheriff and Republican nominee for Arizona's 5th Congressional District, a conservative stronghold.Lamb is favored to win the general election, but a lack of appeal to Mormon voters could make it a closer-than-expected race.
While Lamb says he is a member of the LDS church, Tait is one of the Mormons in the district that question Lamb's adherence to the faith as well as his political motivations.Lamb's campaign slogan is "God, Family, Freedom," and, to her, the sentiment rings hollow because "the candidate and all that they represent is the antithesis of that.""Yes, Mark Lamb is a member of my faith.
He also belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.But from what I understand about Mark Lamb, the dishonesty that has been displayed in his public and private life is completely contrary to our faith," Tait said.Arizona's 5th Congressional District covers the eastern part of the sprawling Phoenix suburbs of Maricopa County — Arizona's most populated — as well as Pinal County.
The district has exploded in population in recent years, too.Kim Fridkin, a political science professor at Arizona State University, has lived in the district for roughly a decade and has watched it change."A lot of people came in from other states and a lot of them from California and they definitely wanted to move to a more...