The Arizona Republican Party has a new leader after a scandal forced former chair Jeff DeWit to the sidelines.
Gina Swoboda was elected at a party meeting after she collected a massive level of support that included former President Donald Trump and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake.
âMASSIVE Victory for The Trump & Lake-Endorsed Election Integrity Warrior Gina Swoboda!,â Lake posted on X.
âArizona Republicans voted overwhelmingly to make Gina Swoboda our new Chairwoman going into the most important election in Arizona history. Gina is a National Leader in election law. She is a grassroots hero, and is loved by Republicans of ALL stripes,â Lake wrote.
âGina is battle tested and a woman of great integrityâshe understands that the White House and Senate Majorityâ and frankly, the survival of our Republic âruns right through State 48. President Trump and I were VERY proud to endorse Gina. We look forward to restoring Arizonaâs faith in elections and winning BIG in 2024,â Lake wrote.
The Arizona Sun-Times noted that Republican Reps. Eli Crane and Andy Biggs of Arizona endorsed Swoboda, as did Charlie Kirk of Turning Point Action.
âGina Swoboda is the stability that this party needs,â conservative activist Merissa Hamilton said, according to The Arizona Republic. âThe fate of America runs through Arizona, and Gina has gone through decades of leadership experience. Sheâs the right person to lead the party.â
DeWit announced Wednesday that he is resigning, a day after the release of an audio recording made in March that revealed his efforts to encourage Kari Lake not to run for U.S. Senate.
In the audio clip, DeWit could be heard telling Lake, a leading contender for the Senate, that powerful people âback Eastâ did not want her to run.
DeWit claimed he was âset upâ and the recording was selectively edited.
âThe tape speaks for itself: The Arizona GOP Chairman Jeff DeWit attempted to bribe Kari Lake,â Lakeâs campaign advisers Caroline Wren and Garrett Ventry told Fox News in response to DeWitâs allegations.
âThankfully Kari is an extremely ethical person who rejected DeWitâs multiple attempts to offer her money and corporate board seats in exchange for Kari not running for public office.â
Arizona Speaker of the House Ben Toma told The Arizona Republic that bouncing back from the recent turmoil is critical for the party.
âI hope we can find a way to get united as a party very soon, because I think that matters a lot. Itâll make a big difference by the time we get to the general election,â he said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
