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.
The district and Lamb's candidacy
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 conservative place," she said.
Fridkin added the residents are a mix of working, middle and upper middle class families. It's predominantly Republican (Trump won the district by roughly 20 points in the last presidential election), mostly white and fairly religious with a sizable LDS population. Two of Arizona's six LDS temples are located within the boundaries of the relatively small district.
With Rep. Andy Biggs not seeking reelection to run for Arizona governor, voters in the district will decide between Democrat Elizabeth Lee, a nurse and political newcomer, or Lamb, who is endorsed by Trump and has a scandal-plagued past.
Lamb has been accused of racist remarks and sexual misconduct while he was Pinal County sheriff. The Arizona Republic released a multipart investigation into Mark Lamb where it alleges he had multiple affairs and sent sexually explicit messages to a woman outside his marriage then threatened to send law enforcement after her if she spoke publicly about it.
One of the most prominent values the LDS church holds sacred is chastity, which includes no sexual relations of any kind outside of marriage. If a member is found to be out of step with covenants, church leaders can revoke certain privileges and can even move to excommunicate the member. The Arizona Republic reported that church leaders looked into claims about Lamb's sexual improprieties.
Lamb, who did not respond to NPR's interview request, denied the allegations during an event at the Encores Conservative Club in June.
"I've been called a racist. I've been called a misogynist … I'm going to tell you folks, these are lies. Every single bit of it," he said, referring to the multiple articles the Arizona Republic has published on Lamb's candidacy.
Some Latter-day Saint voters struggle to support Lamb
To Tait, Lamb as the nominee is the latest example of an unrecognizable Republican Party.
"The idea of having yet another elected official who is accused of sexual misconduct towards women," Tait said, "that does not speak well to me, to my children. Like, what is that teaching our children?"
Historically, Mormons vote for Republicans. But they have become a little less red over the last two decades, according to an analysis by YouGov. In neighboring Utah, where the LDS church is the predominant religion, Trump has faced some of his greatest opposition in a red state.
So looking at a purple state like Arizona, LDS voters start to look more independent overall when factoring in a complicated relationship many have with President Trump over his crass personality and hardline stances on issues, such as immigration.
Holly Anderson is one of those Arizona LDS voters that has become more purple.
"I vote according to my personal values, and I believe that a leader should have character. I do not align with either one of the parties," Anderson told NPR.
She said she loved the late Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. But the party has changed and Anderson said it would be hypocritical of her to support Lamb, even if they share the same religion.
"In my faith, we really stand by 2 Corinthians 13:1. It's a very important scripture to us. It says 'In the mouth of two or three witnesses, shall every word be established,'" she said. "There's been multiple women who have come forth and exposed the things that he has done."
Suzanne Lunt, another independent LDS voter in the district, doesn't plan on voting for Lamb in November, either. She grew up Republican and considered herself to be a moderate conservative. But after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, she decided to leave the party. During the 2024 presidential election, she was the co-chair of the Republicans for Biden committee.
She's been called a Republican in Name Only, or a RINO, over her political stances. But she feels like the Republican Party and its leaders led her astray, not the other way around.
"There are a lot of Republicans that I think are really RINOs because they're not upholding the principles that we've all admired all of these years," she said, referring to Republicans not supporting small government, protection of life and upstanding character.
"I think we need to find people, and we're taught by our church leaders that we need to look at people who have character and who can represent us well," Lunt added. "Lamb comes across as so untrustworthy on a lot of different levels."
While all three women believe Lamb will be victorious in November because of the district's conservative lean, they are noticing that more LDS voters are souring on partisan politics altogether.
"I think there's definitely a turn in people's feelings and I think that there are more that feel like me that I'm aware of. I don't ever see anybody wearing their MAGA hats anymore and I think most people don't want to be associated with that craziness and the extremism," Lunt said.
A Democrat's path to victory
It will be a real uphill battle for a Democrat to flip a district that is rated Solidly Republican by Cook Political Report, but Elizabeth Lee is giving it a shot.
The Democratic candidate has branded herself as "Nurse Lee." She is an infertility nurse and said working in the health care space has given her experience that would help her in Washington D.C.
"Nurses are uniquely trained to walk into a situation very quickly, assess what's happening, what the problem is, and then pulling together the resources to solve it," Lee told NPR.
Lee is trying to capitalize on the discontent some voters feel about the Republican nominee. On the campaign trail, she has outlined her priorities and qualifications while nailing Lamb for his lack of policy goals and in her opinion, character.
"The GOP has nominated an extremely flawed candidate with the kind of alleged flaws that people nationally are fed up with, that people in this district are most certainly fed up with," she said.
Fridkin, the professor of political science at Arizona State University, said while it will be tough for a Democrat to flip the seat, there are factors working in Lee's favor.
"People are really feeling the effects of high gas prices and housing prices are really high and the water crisis is important in Arizona. All of these things are really hitting people where they live," she said. "That's when these types of low interest voters might be motivated to turn out, especially if someone is knocking on the door and telling them why they should."
Trump's current unpopularity could play a role in the election outcome. One recent poll found that only 39% of Arizona voters approved of the president's job – the lowest rating ever recorded in the swing state.
Additionally, Fridkin argues the independent vote is critical for either candidate to win. The largest group of registered voters in the district are Republicans. But there are about 195,000 independents — the second most in any district in Arizona — making them an influential voting bloc.
From Lee's perspective, the needle is moving to the left. An internal poll Lee's campaign shared with NPR shows her gaining traction in the conservative district, especially among independents. The poll, which was conducted by Change Research, found Lee was trailing behind Lamb by three to five points.
"We have spent a year making tens of thousands of phone calls, knocking tens of thousands of doors and knowing … independents are not for extremist politics," Lee said, "sets this race up for exactly what our recent polling showed. And that is that this is actually within the margin of error."
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