Jeff DeWit's resignation just blew up Kari Lake's campaign

Jeff DeWit has departed his position as Arizona’s state Republican Party chairman, having been burned by Kari Lake.

Now he’s turning his own blow torch on Lake, the J. Edgar Hoover of Arizona politics — the apparently always-wired politician who until this moment was the likely Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate.

Whether she remains untouchable now is another question.

Among DeWit’s lightning bolts:

• Lake actually was employed by his private company as she taped their conversation in 2023, raising both legal and ethical concerns.

• Lake set him up to get control of the Arizona Republican Party.

• And Lake issued an ultimatum on Wednesday morning, threatening to release “a new more damaging recording” if he didn’t resign his volunteer post today.

Whew. And whoa.

Jeff DeWit drops his own bombshells

The Lake campaign quickly returned fire, saying “the tape speaks for itself” and that no one blackmailed DeWit.

“The Arizona GOP Chairman Jeff DeWit attempted to bribe Kari Lake,” Carolyn Wren and Garrett Ventry, the campaign’s senior advisers, said. “Thankfully Kari is an extremely ethical person who rejected DeWit’s multiple attempts to offer her money and corporate board seats in exchange for Kari not running for public office.”

Their statement didn’t address the ethics of secretly taping your friends for future “gotcha” material.

But one thing is clear.

Arizona’s departing Republican Party chairman — a former state treasurer and former Trump administration official who was chief operating officer of both Trump’s 2016 and 2020 elections — just blew up the Senate race.

“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,” DeWit said in his resignation announcement.

“This is obviously a concern given how much interaction she has with high profile people including President Trump. I question how effective a United States Senator can be when they cannot be trusted to engage in private and confidential conversations.”

He says Lake 'selectively edited' the tape

And I question how Lake can ever now attract so much as a single vote from those moderate Republicans and independents she needs to win.

DeWit, as expected, offers a different take on what he said was a “selectively edited” recording.

He wasn’t offering a “bribe” during that March 2023 conversation, he says, so much as a suggestion to try to help both her and the party, which was coming off of a bruising set of losses by MAGA candidates in 2022.

DeWit says he suggested that Lake stay out of the 2024 Senate race, then run for governor in 2026. He didn't address who those "very powerful people" were who wanted to "put their money where their mouth is in a big way" to keep her out of the Senate race.

“I realize when hearing Lake’s recording that I was set up,” DeWit said.

“I believe she orchestrated this entire situation to have control over the state party, and it is obvious from the recording that she crafted her performance responses with the knowledge that she was recording it, intending to use this recording later to portray herself as a hero in her own story.”

Bumbling AZ GOP boss: Plays into Lake's hands

DeWit goes on.

“This morning, I was determined to fight for my position. However, a few hours ago, I received an ultimatum from Lake’s team: resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording. I am truly unsure of its contents, but considering our numerous past open conversations as friends, I have decided not to take the risk.

“I am resigning as Lake requested, in the hope that she will honor her commitment to cease her attacks … .”

MAGA names on short list to take over

If you’re Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, the oft-overlooked other Republican running for the Senate, things just got interesting.

If you’re Kari Lake, things couldn't be better (or could they?) as you tout your secret recordings as proof that you’re an ethical giant.

“I can’t be bribed. I can’t be bought,” she boasted on Wednesday, shortly after DeWit’s resignation. “I’m only in this for my children and the state of Arizona. Any contribution you could make to my campaign would be deeply appreciated.”

And if you’re the Arizona Democratic Party? Well, you’re making a run for the popcorn.

DeWit will almost certainly be replaced by someone in the MAGA crowd, probably whomever Lake anoints.

You know, the people who have managed to lose two Senate seats, the Governor’s Office, the Secretary of State’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office — all formerly Republican strongholds?

Names I’m hearing include Turning Point Action’s Tyler Bowyer, Gina Swoboda, (she’s big in election denial circles and has ties to both the Trump and Lake campaigns), Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor and … wait for it … expelled Rep. Liz Harris.

Yeah, the state lawmaker whose conduct was so disgraceful that even her fellow Republicans voted to give her the old heave ho.

Why did Lake stay silent for 10 months?

The new GOP chairman must be an elected state committeeman. But whomever inherits the job inherits a hot mess.

DeWit’s job was to figure out a way for Republicans to win again — to bring moderates back into the fold without alienating the culture warrior crowd.

His demise was set in motion 10 months ago, the moment Lake secretly taped his offer to find her a better job or a bigger payday if only she would step aside so the party could nominate someone who could win the Senate seat.

It was settled on Wednesday when Lake or her surrogate slipped the recording to the Daily Guardian.

An artfully affronted Lake then quickly issued a call for DeWit’s resignation, which leads one to wonder:

If what DeWit did was so horribly corrupt, why did she stay silent for 10 months?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake may have forced out Jeff DeWit, but she's not untouchable