(RepublicanJournal.org) – Kari Lake, who’s running for one of Arizona’s US Senate seats, made news when she called for the chair of the state’s Republican Party to quit. Lake, who made the news in 2022 with her gubernatorial run, says Jeff DeWit tried to bribe her to sit out the Senate election — and a recording seems to back up her claim. She says it’s all part of a plot to derail Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Recording Hints at Corruption
On January 23 the Daily Mail, a British newspaper, reported that it had obtained a recording of a conversation between Lake and DeWit. On the tape a man, apparently DeWit, tells Lake that “There are very powerful people who want to keep you out” — he asks. “is there a number at which…” At this point Lake cuts him off and asks if he thinks she can be bought; DeWit answers that she could “take a pause for a couple of years.”
Responding to the recording, Lake called for DeWit to resign, saying “We can’t have somebody who is corrupt and compromised running the Republican Party.” DeWit only took over as chair of the Arizona GOP last January, after previously working as chief operating officer on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. Now, in the recording, he can be heard telling Lake he thinks Trump will lose and someone else should be the nominee. Lake, a loyal backer of the 45th president, doesn’t agree.
After the recording emerged, other Arizona Republicans backed Lake’s demand for DeWit’s resignation. Maricopa County Republican Party Chairman Craig Berland said that, if the tape is genuine, would also call for DeWit to step down. Replies on X (formerly Twitter) suggested that in fact, this is “an impeachment scenario.”
DeWit stepped down on January 24.
Lake Isn’t Backing Down
Lake, a former anchor for Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV, became known nationally in 2022 after she unsuccessfully ran in Arizona’s gubernatorial race and then called for the election result to be decertified. She’s a strong backer of Trump and has been mentioned as a potential vice-presidential candidate to run with him in November.
In the meantime, she seems determined to push on with her Senate bid, in what promises to be a hard-fought race. Right now, polling puts Lake just 1% ahead of her liberal rival Ruben Gallego (D), but that’s in a head-to-head race. The seat she’s gunning for is currently held by Democrat defector Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who hasn’t announced whether she plans to run for re-election. If she does, she’s unlikely to win — but she could upset Lake’s hopes. Right now, Lake will be bracing herself for a tough campaign. The last thing she needs is her own party stabbing her in the back.
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