{"id":1454296,"date":"2024-01-30T23:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T04:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1454296"},"modified":"2024-01-30T23:25:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T04:25:00","slug":"arizona-gop-selects-new-chair-after-attempted-kari-lake-bribery-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/arizona-gop-selects-new-chair-after-attempted-kari-lake-bribery-scandal\/1454296\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona GOP Selects New Chair After Attempted Kari Lake Bribery Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arizona GOP Selects New Chair After Attempted Kari Lake Bribery Scandal<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

The Arizona Republican Party selected a new Trump-endorsed chair on Jan. 27 after the former party leader resigned following a bribery controversy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 10: Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake announces her bid for the seat of U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) at JetSet Magazine on October 10, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Former President Donald Trump gave his endorsement of Lake through a pre-recorded video during the rally. (Photo by Rebecca Noble\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe proudly present our new Chairwoman [Gina Swoboda]<\/strong>, alongside the dynamic new AZGOP Board!\u201d the party said<\/a> in a Jan. 28 post on social media platform X. \u201cWith a laser focus on the 2024 elections, our mission is clear: to win additional seats in the state legislature, reclaim our Senate and Congressional seats, take control of school boards, and win back the White House. We are ready for victory!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Swoboda was elected at the annual GOP meeting held at Dream City Church in north Phoenix on Jan. 27, which was attended by more than 1,000 people. Previously, only elections for the party\u2019s lower-level positions were scheduled for the day.<\/p>\n

However, the sudden resignation of former state GOP chair Jeff DeWit due to bribery<\/a> allegations triggered an urgent election to select a successor. Mr. DeWit was only one year into his scheduled two-year term. His departure triggered a rush of candidates who aimed to secure the position.<\/p>\n

Three candidates were initially nominated: Ms. Swoboda, Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor, and Mesa resident Verl Farnsworth, who ran for the office of president of the United States in 2012.<\/p>\n

According to Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers, Ms. Swoboda secured<\/a> 67 percent of the votes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a Jan. 28 X post<\/a>, Ms. Swoboda voiced her support for former President Donald Trump, who backed her in the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cArizona is the key to the presidency,\u201c she wrote. \u201dI was proud to have the support of President Trump in this victory to lead the AZGOP into the most important election of our lifetime. Now it\u2019s time to turn out every last vote for the 47th President, DONALD J TRUMP!\u201d<\/p>\n

On Jan. 27, President Trump said<\/a> in a Truth Social post that Ms. Swoboda had his \u201ccomplete and total endorsement to be chairwoman of the Republican Party of Arizona.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is an outstanding person with incredible passion for our Party,<\/strong>\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Kari Lake, a candidate for the U.S. Senate who allegedly was offered<\/a> bribes by Mr. DeWit, called Ms. Swoboda\u2019s win a \u201cmassive victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGina is a National Leader in election law. She is a grassroots hero and is loved by Republicans of ALL stripes. Gina is battle-tested and a woman of great integrity\u2014she understands that the White House and Senate Majority\u2014and frankly, the survival of our Republic\u2014runs right through State 48,\u201d Ms. Lake wrote<\/a>\u00a0in a Jan. 28 X post.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump and I were VERY proud to endorse Gina<\/strong>. We look forward to restoring Arizona\u2019s faith in elections and winning BIG in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Swoboda works as a senior adviser on elections for the Arizona Senate. She is the executive director of the Voter Reference Foundation, which describes itself as \u201cdedicated to ensuring transparent, accurate, and fair elections\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n

The Controversy<\/h2>\n

The bribery scandal that led to Mr. DeWit\u2019s resignation came to light after The Daily Mail published a recording from March 2023 featuring a conversation between him and Ms. Lake.<\/p>\n

In the recording, Mr. DeWit says that \u201cvery powerful people\u201d want to keep Ms. Lake out of the Senate race for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re willing to put their money where their mouth is in a big way. So this conversation never happened,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is crazy though. They should want me. I\u2019m a great candidate. People love me. These people are corrupt,\u201d Ms. Lake responded. \u201cThis is about defeating Trump, and I think that\u2019s a bad, bad thing for our country … This is about the final death blow to Trump, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s good for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. DeWit agreed: \u201cIt\u2019s not … but at the same time I\u2019m not even sure Trump can win again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust say, is there a number at which\u2014\u201d Mr. DeWit says before being cut off by Ms. Lake.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can be bought? That\u2019s what it\u2019s about,\u201d <\/strong>she says.<\/p>\n

Mr. DeWit suggests that he might be killed<\/strong> if the powerful figures behind him offering the bribe were to be exposed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t tell anybody we had this conversation<\/strong>,\u201d he warns Ms. Lake.<\/p>\n

After the recording was published, Ms. Lake said in an interview with NBC that Mr. DeWit has \u201cgot to resign.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the same day, Mr. Dewit said he resigned from the post of Arizona GOP chair. In a statement, he accused Ms. Lake\u2019s team of secretly recording their controversial conversation and leaking it to the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said things I regret, but I realize when hearing Lake\u2019s recording that I was set up,<\/strong>\u201d he said. \u201cI believe she orchestrated this entire situation to have control over the state party.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the Jan. 27 election, when Ms. Lake took to the stage to nominate Ms. Swoboda, some audience members booed in an apparent rebuff to her involvement in the bribing scandal.<\/p>\n

In an interview with AZCentral, Arizona Speaker of the House Ben Toma said that the recent turmoil was \u201cunfortunate\u201d for the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we can find a way to get united as a party very soon because I think that matters a lot<\/strong>,\u201c he said. \u201dIt’ll make a big difference by the time we get to the general election.\u201d<\/p>\n

J.D. Watson, a state committee member from Scottsdale, said he was concerned about the corruption exposed by the scandal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that [DeWit] did something wrong. … He needs to own up to it and stop being the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Watson also said he appreciated that Ms. Lake turned down the bribe and potentially leaked her conversation with Mr. DeWit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking six figures, possibly, and she could not be bought.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nTue, 01\/30\/2024 – 18:25<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bRead More<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arizona GOP Selects New Chair After Attempted Kari Lake Bribery Scandal Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The Arizona Republican Party…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1454296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1454296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1454296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1454296\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1454296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1454296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1454296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}