After seeming to bribe Senate hopeful Kari Lake not to run, Arizona GOP Chair resigns

The head of the Arizona Republican Party resigned Wednesday following the release of a surreptitiously recorded conversation of him seemingly trying to bribe Kari Lake to stay out of this year's U.S. Senate race.

A 10-minute audio recording, published by the Daily Mail of London on Tuesday, revealed a conversation between Lake, a Trump loyalist who unsuccessfully ran for governor of Arizona in 2022, and Arizona Republican Party Chair Jeff DeWit. In it, DeWit appears to offers Lake various deals – to be put on a company payroll, or financial compensation – in exchange for taking "a pause for a couple of years" from running for public office.

"There are very powerful people who want to keep you out, and what they're willing to do is put their money where their mouth is in a big way," DeWit said.

It's not illegal, or unheard of, for top party officials to attempt to clear the field of unfavorable candidates in order to pave the way for a preferred alternative. In the audio recording, DeWit raised concerns about Lake's ability to fundraise enough money to win the U.S. Senate race, as well as former President Donald Trump's ability to win another election – and by association, Lake's own electability.

"I'm not even sure Trump can win again," DeWit said. "I don't know that he can win."

But DeWit also appeared well aware of the optics of attempting to buy off Lake, a MAGA firebrand with a national profile. In the recording, he repeatedly cast himself as a messenger for powerful people "back East" and asked for Lake's discretion.

"This conversation never happened," DeWit said.

"If you say no, which is fine, it's your choice, don't tell people," he added.

In a statement released Wednesday, DeWit accused Lake of being the Daily