The Arizona Republican Party once again finds itself embroiled in scandal and change, with its chairman resigning on Wednesday under strange circumstances. With a pivotal Senate race and presidential election on the line, the state’s GOP has the chance to help shape the future of the country, but it will have to decide which direction it wants to take in order to do so.
Since the 2020 election, the spotlight has been on Arizona as a center of debunked GOP voter fraud theories. The former Republican chairwoman during that election was targeted by her own party following losses, with many calling for her resignation. Two years later, Republican voting officials in the 2022 midterm elections were charged after they refused to certify election results. And on top of that, to this day, the GOP gubernatorial candidate will not concede her midterm loss.
Due to scandals capturing national attention, a tightly contested Senate race having the chance to give either party control of the chamber, and the state being a battleground in the presidential election, all eyes will be focused on the Arizona GOP in the coming months.
Scandals rock the Arizona GOP
The Arizona Republican Party was upended this week after a recording was released involving then-state GOP Chairman Jeff DeWit and Senate candidate Kari Lake, in which DeWit appeared to be offering Lake a bribe to stay out of the 2024 Senate race. The recording, from last March, was released on Tuesday, with Lake upset at the request, especially coming after she lost the 2022 gubernatorial race to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ).
DeWit announced on Wednesday that he would resign, accusing Lake of leaking the recording herself. He claimed she selectively edited the recording of the conversation, stating he believed he “was offering a helpful perspective to someone I considered a friend.”
“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. 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,” DeWit said.
It is only the latest scandal to rock the Arizona GOP. DeWit inherited the chairmanship from Kelli Ward, who led Arizona Republicans in efforts to overturn the 2020 elections. Struggling with the party’s large amount of debt and a shrinking budget, DeWit started his reign by seeking money from national Republicans, but his appeals to the Republican National Committee largely went unanswered.
When DeWit took the helm of the Arizona GOP in January 2023, the party had about $1 million. But, according to financial disclosures, as of November, the state party had $55,000 in its federal account and $34,000 of debt owed to various vendors.
That same month, Republican supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd from Cochise County, Arizona, were hit with felony criminal charges after they refused to meet the state’s legal deadline for certifying the 2022 midterm elections.
A crucial race for Senate
DeWit called attention to the possible ramifications of the audio recording’s release in his resignation letter on Wednesday, suggesting that Lake manufactured its release.
“The release of our conversation by Lake confirms a disturbing tendency to exploit private interactions for personal gain and increases concerns about her habit of secretly recording personal and private conversations,” he said. “This is obviously a concern given how much interaction she has with high profile people including President Trump.”
Lake’s Senate campaign is already bogged down by her former claims of election fraud in both the 2020 presidential and 2022 gubernatorial elections. She will likely face Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in the race in November, with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) still mum on her desire to run again. Gallego and Lake have taken turns leading in polling, but both show significant support ahead of polls that include Sinema.
The latest show of infighting could help Lake’s Senate bid, showcasing her as staunchly against corruption and resolutely for the citizens of the Grand Canyon State. But it could also have a disastrous impact. Despite her arguing that she wants “corruption” rooted out of the government, placing her at the center of a subversion attempt could be the ammunition for Democrats and Gallego to use to highlight the shifting sands the Republicans are on, as opposed to the united Democratic front.
Presidential race plagued by infighting
The Arizona GOP has long been split between pro-Trump Republicans and establishment Republicans who believe throwing their support behind Trump and his candidates in 2024 could cost them similar losses that they experienced in 2020 and 2022.
Prominent Republicans called for Ward’s resignation after Democrats swept top races in 2022, including the governor’s mansion. Until he resigned, DeWit carried the weight of a Senate race and a presidential race on his back.
Arizona GOP local staff have received texts, calls, and emails constantly from pro-Trump activists who are calling for a purge of Republicans who are deemed unloyal to the cause. A county party stripped Karrin Taylor Robson, a centrist Republican who lost the GOP gubernatorial primary to Lake in 2022, of her voting privileges as a GOP precinct committee member.
The state continues to trend further blue, particularly with the increasing numbers of independent voters in Arizona. As of November 2023, independents edged out Republicans as the largest voting bloc in the state.
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If the Arizona Republican Party continues to be marred by infighting and financial problems, its efforts may just push victory into the hands of Democrats, who have rallied behind Gallego in the Senate race, as well as cost Trump the state in the presidential election.
Arizona Republicans can elect a new chair at a mandatory meeting on Saturday.
