Republican Kari Lake is using a controversial leaked audio and the resignation of the Arizona Republican Party chair to bolster her Senate campaign as a political outsider ahead of a challenging race for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.) seat this fall.
Jeff DeWit, the party chair, resigned Wednesday after the damaging audio was released, in which he can be heard telling Lake people “back East … want to keep you out” of the race. He also appeared to imply that she’d be offered a job if she stayed out of the race.
In a statement , DeWit said the conversation took place more than 10 months ago in Lake’s living room and was “selectively edited audio” and “taken out of context.”
Lake and her team cast the episode as showing she’s a woman of the people. “I can’t be bought,” she states at one point on the audio.
It’s the kind of publicity that can’t be bought, and a number of Republicans think it could help Lake.
“I think the whole episode has some benefit in reminding people … of the fact that she’s not somebody who’s part of the party establishment or infrastructure,” said one Arizona-based GOP strategist.