Kari Lake called for the resignation of Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit on Tuesday after last year published an audio recording of the moment he appeared to try to bribe her not to run for U.S. Senate.
In it he explains that powerful people would offer her a job or money if she stepped away from politics for two years.
Arriving at Donald Trump's campaign party in Nashua, New Hampshire on Tuesday evening, she told that the American people have had enough.
“People are standing up and saying: No, we want our country back,” she said.
“We want our government back and will not tolerate another ounce of corruption.” And now the whole truth is coming to light.'
Kari Lake called for the resignation of Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit on Tuesday after published an audio recording last year of the moment he tried to stop her from running for Senate
Asked if he should resign now, she said: “I think he should.”
DeWit and his office have not responded to multiple requests for comment, but local party officials have called on him to leave his post.
Lake had previously spoken about the extraordinary efforts to keep her out of the race, but never revealed who was behind it.
On Monday, Arizona talk show host Garret Lewis named DeWit, who was elected party leader last January.
Audio recordings obtained by revealed how he made his offer at her home in early March last year.
“There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” he is heard saying.
DeWit tells Lake, 54, one of the most recognizable faces of the former president's MAGA movement and a woman frequently tipped as the 2024 vice presidential candidate, that he believes Trump will lose and it's time to make room for someone else.
After asking her not to mention the conversation to anyone, he makes his first offer.
“So the question I got from the East today was, 'Are there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll to keep her out?'
Jeff DeWit and his wife Marina with President Donald Trump. DeWit was elected chairman of the Arizona Republican Party last year. Shortly afterwards he asked Kari Lake to withdraw from politics for two years. “There are very powerful people who want to keep you out,” he told you
Lake reacts indignantly.
“This is about defeating Trump, and I think that’s a very, very bad thing for our country,” she said.
At the time of their conversation, Lake was publicly considering a run for the U.S. Senate.
And the episode reveals the tensions sparked after she refused to accept defeat in the 2022 Arizona governor's race.
She became a national figure and became a regular on Fox News as she repeated Trump's election denials. That put her at odds with the more traditional wing of the Republican Party, which feared that a new generation of Trump loyalists could alienate major donors.
She announced her run in October.
In the new 10-minute audio clip, DeWit asks for confidentiality.
Lake spoke to the Chron at the Sheraton Hotel in Nashua, New Hampshire, where journalists, campaign staff and supporters gathered to watch the early results
Pressure is already growing on DeWit to resign as state party chairman
“If you say no, it’s fine, it’s your decision, don’t tell people,” he tells Lake.
He later explains the reasons for the offer.
“I think for a lot of people it’s not about control or agenda,” he says. “It’s about the ability to raise money to win.”
Lake sticks to her guns.
“I don't want to make a deal with people like that.” “That's a hill worth dying on,” she said.
“I'm not…if they want to steal the election to make me and our movement disappear.” I won't let that happen.
“I owe it to the people of Arizona to carry their torch and voice.”