When Elizabeth Lee zoomed ahead in the Arizona Congressional District 5 Democratic primary after polls closed July 21, it wrapped an expensive time in the state party’s politics.
But when the general election cycle started, which most of the third quarter of federal reporting falls into, the money numbers really took off, with Lee being out-fundraised by Republican Mark Lamb in the July-1-to-Sept.-30 third quarter by more than a 3-to-1 ratio.
Lee outraised each of the two Democratic primary candidates she easily beat — Brian Hualde and Chris James — by a $58,000-to-$10,000 margin in the second quarter, which ended June 30, and had raised a collective $286,000 from the start of the cycle.
Lamb easily outpaced his only Republican primary competitor, Daniel Keenan, in primary votes to claim the GOP nomination, even though Keenan had more cash on hand during much of the race.
District 5 includes the towns of Gilbert, San Tan Valley and Queen Creek and the Sun Lakes area, along with the southern and eastern parts of Chandler and eastern Mesa, laying in both Maricopa and Pinal counties.
Lee, a nurse, raised about $375,000 total since the start of her campaign, while Lamb, the former Pinal County sheriff, raised $1.73 million.
After expenses, Lee had about $31,000 cash on hand as of June 30, plus $5,000 in outstanding loans. Her total cash-on-hand situation improved to about $125,000 by Oct. 14 when she filed, Lamb stated he had $180,000.
Lamb took in about $550,000 since the primary, while Lee took in about $180,000 during that span.
There are also five political action committees that have spent almost a combined $350,000 in support of Lamb, including $251,000 from the Win It Back PAC and $72,000 from the God Family Freedom PAC, while Lee lists no such PAC support.
Lee has received only $1,000 in national party committee contributions, while Lamb has received $129,150 in “other committee contributions.” Lamb has also taken out $40,000 in loans.
The donations are part of one of the most expensive midterm elections in U.S. history. The Federal Elections Commission reports that Lamb, Lee and the 2,425 other candidates running for U.S. House seats this year reported combined total receipts of $1.9 billion between Jan. 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.
Learn more about the campaign finances of candidates for federal office at fec.gov/data/.
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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