Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb sparked local chatter online today after posting a photo to X of himself in Florida beside a newly designated Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway sign. The highway, created by Collier County officials, honors the Turning Point USA founder who was assassinated Sept. 10 while speaking at a Utah college.

Kirk’s death was deeply felt in Maricopa. Just one day before the shooting, Turning Point USA was mobilizing rural voters here. Hundreds of locals later traveled to Glendale for his memorial; a day later, they rallied along the city’s main strip.

That wave of activism did not fade. In October, Turning Point Action launched its “Red, White and Boots” coalition kickoff at Duke’s Roadhouse in Maricopa, where flyers read “WE ARE CHARLIE!” and sign-up tables urged attendees to register voters in Kirk’s name. Local residents told InMaricopa that his assassination had “catapulted” people into action, noting a surge in turnout at churches, political events and community gatherings. Sheriff Ross Teeple, who succeeded Lamb after earning his endorsement last year, and other elected officials appeared at the Duke’s event, encouraging residents to carry the momentum into the midterms.

The former sheriff’s public profile remains unusually strong for an ex-county lawman.

Lamb built a national media audience through television programs like A&E’s Live PD and his viral YouTube series Fridays with Frank, and his public safety PSA against left-lane camping on SR 347 earned an Emmy nomination. Last year he waged a competitive U.S. Senate primary, ultimately losing to Kari Lake in one of the country’s most watched Republican contests.

So, when Lamb posted the Florida highway sign this morning, residents immediately began pitching Arizona versions. Suggestions ranged from renaming the entire stretch of State Route 347 from the Maricopa city limits to the I-10 interchange as the Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway to a tongue-in-cheek proposal to rechristen Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway as the Mark Lamb Highway.

Lamb told InMaricopa he had not read the comments yet.

“Dang, I hadn’t heard that, but I would be honored to have that highway named after me… assuming the traffic was better,” Lamb laughed. “I don’t want people cursing me every time they were on that stretch of highway if the traffic was bad.”

SR 347 is one of the only yet-to-be-nicknamed freeways in metro Phoenix — State Route 51 is the Piestewa Freeway, Loop 202 comprises the Red Mountain, Santan and South Mountain Freeways, etc. — but for now, Lamb’s sign remains a Florida novelty.