Arizona GOP Chairman Resigns after Kari Lake Recording Leak

Jeff DeWit, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, resigned Wednesday after the leaking of an audio recording of a conversation he had, apprently in early 2023, with current Senate candidate and former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R., Ariz.). The recording appeared to capture DeWit, who had led the state party since January 2023, attempting to bribe Lake into ending her campaign in the state’s 2024 Republican senatorial primary election; he asked her to name a price she would accept in exchange for agreeing to stay out of electoral politics for a two-year period.

After advising Lake to not tell anyone about their conversation (“this conversation never happened”) he asks, “Is there a number at which –“? Lake cuts him off, interjecting, “I can be bought?” DeWit replies that he does not mean that she can be bought, but perhaps persuaded to take a “pause” and not run in this year’s GOP-primary race.

At former president Donald Trump’s victory celebration after the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, Lake told a reporter that DeWit should resign, saying, “We can’t have somebody who’s corrupt and compromised running the Republican Party.”

“I want corruption rooted out of our government,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s on the Democrat side or the Republican side.” When asked who might replace DeWit as chair of the Arizona GOP, Lake said she hadn’t given that much thought. Her goal, she added, is “to make sure that we get the corrupt people out.”

DeWit shared a statement through the Arizona GOP X account Wednesday afternoon, alleging that the audio recording had been doctored. Nonetheless, he resigned from his post, as Lake had requested.

“In light of the recent revelation that Kari Lake has released a selectively edited audio recording of our private conversation, I must clearly address this deceptive tactic,” DeWit wrote. “The recording, from over ten months ago, is not only taken out of context but also undermines the integrity of private discussions critical for party leadership.”

He also said that the conversation took place while Lake was an employee of his at his private company and that he simply meant to “offer perspective, not coercion.” DeWit added that, since that conversation in which he advised Lake not to run for Senate, Lake “has been on a mission to destroy” him. He alleged that he “received an ultimatum from Lake’s team: resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording,” the contents of which he is unaware. However, he concluded, he is “doing as Ms. Lake wishes” and resigning as chair of the Arizona Republican Party.

Lake, a close ally of former president Donald Trump, faces scant opposition in the GOP Senate race and will probably face Democratic front-runner and current congressman Ruben Gallego should she prevail in the August 6 primary election. Kyrsten Sinema, who currently holds the senatorial seat, has filed paperwork to run for reelection as an independent but has not yet announced whether she will officially enter the race.