Mark Lamb's critics were asked to speak. Then they were silenced at GOP meeting

Allies and members of the group Turning Point, including Arizona Sen. Jake Hoffman, helped shut down discussion among fellow Republicans about Lamb, according to attendees. Lamb is one of Turning Point's top candidate endorsements for 2026.

Jillian Stannard and Matt Hilsabeck, who are longtime Republicans and live in San Tan Valley, said they were surprised by the hostility and bullying on display at the July 9 meeting — and the unwillingness to hear them out on Lamb — before being voted into silence.

"I've heard Lamb say it is all lies," Hilsabeck told The Arizona Republic. "We were there to answer their questions and tell them it is not lies."

Pair invited to meeting to talk about Mark Lamb

Stannard and Hilsabeck said precinct committee members asked them to attend the meeting. They came prepared to present evidence about how the former Pinal County sheriff sent nude pictures of his wife, encouraged others to have relations with her and solicited chats and rendezvous with other women.

Lamb bills himself as "America's Sheriff" and is running on platform of "faith, family and freedom" for the conservative seat held for years by Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs.

Lamb has twice been endorsed by President Donald Trump despite the sexual misconduct claims.

An ongoing Arizona Republic investigation found the former sheriff invited intimate encounters and indulged a yearslong habit of sexting that he later denied or sought to conceal, sometimes with threats or intimidation. He also made a racist joke about Black people being lazy when a border extremist messaged him the N-word, records show.

Hilsabeck, who was Lamb's former police and business partner, said Lamb in 2015 sent him a nude picture of his wife as a birthday greeting. He said Lamb introduced him to a sexually charged "lifestyle" that included oral sex with his wife, Janel. Hilsabeck and Stannard were married in 2017, but the relationship fell apart after she said she found explicit photos and messages from Lamb and another woman on Hilsabeck's phone and computer.

Stannard said when she reported Lamb's conduct to leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lamb threatened her, the same way screenshots showed threats to another woman.

Lamb has called the allegations "lies" but has not responded to a single specific claim. Lawyers for Lamb's campaign said in April that many allegations were "baseless and harmful" but offered no specifics. Janel Lamb wrote online in May that she and her husband are the subjects of a "massive smear campaign."

Hilsabeck wanted to counter that.

"People were saying the story is not true; the images are AI, that we're Democrats," he said. "We're here to tell you it is a true story."

Hoffman, who represents Legislative District 15 and is a former Turning Point spokesperson, declined to discuss details of the meeting or the allegations against Lamb.

'I expected they'd want to hear us'

Members of Legislative District 15, which straddles the line between Maricopa and Pinal counties, voted nearly 2-1 against allowing Stannard and Hilsabeck to speak. About 18 voted in favor and 28 against, attendees said.

Stannard said LD board members were determined to make sure the vote went against them — to the delight and cheers of Lamb's campaign workers who had set up at the back of the room.

"They applauded when they voted not to let us speak," she said after the meeting. "I was shocked. I expected they'd want to hear us."

Precinct committee members Melinda Yarbro and Linda Doty said they had lobbied to give Stannard and Hilsabeck a time slot originally reserved for Lamb's Republican opponent. Primary challenger Daniel Keenan canceled his appearance.

They said they hoped to use the meeting to rescind the district's endorsement of Lamb.

But a motion to give Stannard and Hilsabeck the three minutes originally allotted to Keenan led to a 10-minute debate dominated by Turning Point allies, Yarbro and Doty said.

They said one of the fiercest opponents was LD chair Cynthia Newswander, who works with Turning Point's political arm. And Hoffman moved to adjourn the meeting, interrupting an announcement that Stannard and Hilsabeck were willing to meet with members afterward, they said.

Newswander did not repond to repeated interview requests.

Turning Point and allies use their influence

Arizona is broken into 30 Republican and Democratic legislative districts, which are often run like private clubs. Voters elect precinct members from each party. Each party group then nominates a chair and board members from its ranks.

They meet regularly to discuss candidates and issues or take care of the district's political business.

LD15 members typically "only get to hear from Jake's candidates," which means Turning Point's candidates, Yarbro said.

"It's very frustrating," she said. "It kind of feels like it isn't the Republican Party anymore. It's a dictatorship."

Turning Point is the conservative organization founded by the late MAGA activist Charlie Kirk. The Phoenix-based constellation of nonprofits and political action groups has become a heavyweight in Arizona politics, willing to spend millions of dollars on candidates of its choice or to torpedo candidates it opposes.

Turning Point is a core part of the GOP's swing-state campaign apparatus and contributed to Republican victories in 2024, including Trump's.

Hoffman would not discuss Yarbro with The Republic. But he has disparaged her online, saying she tried to "obstruct" the district from endorsing Biggs and Lamb.

"Melinda is a Leftist plant trying to disrupt & destroy conservatives," Hoffman wrote in a March post on X. "She does nothing but obstruct the people who actually do the hard work to win elections & fix our totally broken government."

Other LD15 members said Hoffman and Turning Point allies have made the meetings "atrocious" and fractious, turning Republicans against one another.

Doty said the job of a precinct committee member is to engage neighbors in discussions of issues and candidates. She said Turning Point has made the volunteer work of reaching out to neighbors more difficult. The organization also pays some precinct committee members to spread its branded messages, she said.

"I just want to be a good neighbor without being paid. I'm going to do that regardless of what Turning Point does," Doty said. "Turning Point has made it into a job ... Turning Point is trying to control the Republican Party."

Views that differ are stifled, member says

LD15 member Brad Moore, who lives in Queen Creek, said Hoffman has weaponized the district on Turning Point's behalf to "muzzle the voice of anyone they don't agree with." He said the district's Telegram page reads like a Turning Point candidate wish list.

In December, Moore said he approached the district board about helping him host an event at his home for U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, a Republican who is running for governor in the July 21 primary against Biggs. He said board members refused to support it and wouldn't help him promote it.

Moore did not attend the July 9 meeting, but he said Stannard and Hilsabeck should have been allowed to speak. He said the evidence documenting Lamb's sexual improprieties — screenshots, emails, photographs, group chats, messages, interviews — was overwhelming and compelling.

"We don't want to hear any opposing views," he said. "It's groupthink at its finest ... Joseph Stalin would be proud of LD15."