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It was an unfamiliar greeting for Lake, a former local television anchor who had been an outspoken opponent of the election and who had been enthusiastically welcomed just a year ago. By the same Donald Trump-supporting crowd.
But this comes after Lake and his allies appeared to use their signature hard-line tactic against one Republican in the party, recording conversations and leaking them to the public. It was an expression of the distrust that had arisen.
After continued booing, a secret recording of his conversation with then-state party chairman Jeff DeWitt was released last year. During the discussion, Mr. DeWitt said that key people did not want Mr. Lake. He wanted to run for the Senate, but he thought he might consider running a company’s payroll instead. Lake told him she would not be “bought” and publicly denounced the offer as evidence of bribery.
Lake admitted he made the recording. She says she didn’t leak it, but that “someone I know leaked it.”
In interviews, more than a dozen For years, Arizona Republicans (including elected officials, candidates, and party donors) I thought they were being recorded when they were around Lake or talking to Lake on the phone. One prominent Republican, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity about sensitive topics, but the release of DeWitt’s recordings has sparked a desire to speak to or send messages to DeWitt. “I was completely killed,” he said.
It remains to be seen whether the controversy ultimately affects Lake’s prospects as Arizona’s next senator. Lake is running in the nation’s closest Senate race, in what could be a three-way race against incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Lake, who narrowly lost the 2022 gubernatorial race, is considered the frontrunner in the Aug. 6 Republican primary.
A campaign representative said Lake was “uniting Republican voters” in the state to run for U.S. Senate, and her standing improved after the election. dewitt recording has been published.
But interviews with Republican activists said the leaked tapes opened up new attacks against her and suggested that public trust in her was already waning. Some of her biggest supporters.
patron of the lake previously celebrated Her approach to recording her critics and releasing the recordings, especially when trying to embarrass reporters and Democrats.
But this time, the target was a fellow Republican with deep ties to grassroots conservatives. As Arizona State Treasurer, DeWitt was one of the earliest statewide legislators to support President Trump in 2016. The President and His Bid He continued to hold the top position throughout President Trump’s election campaign. last year, The former president and Lake helped install DeWitt as state Republican Party leader ahead of the 2024 election.
After the recordings were made public, DeWitt resigned, but it was Lake who felt the most backlash.
“I don’t trust her. It’s over,” said Barbara Willey, 81, a lifelong Republican who changed her support after the recording was released. to County Sheriff Mark Lamb, Lake’s main Republican opponent.
“When she did that to Jeff DeWitt, it was like, ‘Okay, she turned on everyone,'” said Wiley, who was in the audience when Lake took the stage. room. “
Attendees said Lake seemed surprised by the crowd’s reaction.
“We don’t agree on everything,” she said, loudly jeering, according to a video of the press appearance obtained by The Washington Post. She went ahead and repeated her false claims. “But there’s one thing we all agree on: Arizona elections are a corrupt mess.”
This line usually pleases Republicans Crowds had gathered around the desert state that Trump won in 2016 but narrowly lost in 2020. Still, the crowd did not subside.
After the 2020 election, Mr. Lake aggressively embraced Mr. Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen from him, transforming himself from local news anchor to national conservative superstar almost overnight.
The state’s Republican leaders and political consultants say they still think Lake, backed by President Trump, will be the eventual senator. candidate.But some are skeptical whether she can regain her seat, This is especially true if the cinema decides to operate.
Kirk Adams, a political and business consultant, former speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives and former chief of staff to the governor, said, “To the extent that party members have questions about Kali Lake’s character and authenticity, this story raises those questions.” It will affect,” he said. Doug Ducey (R).
The incident appears to have left her standing on the National Republican Senatorial Committee intact.
“The NRSC is not at all concerned that Kali Lake is having problems with its base,” said a person familiar with the group’s strategy. “She has the strongest Teflon base in the country.”
But other national groups are still taking a wait-and-see attitude regarding Arizona. The Republican Party’s recent performance in Arizona has been dismal, making Lake a particularly divisive figure. Senate Leadership Fund PAC; Working with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), he has already secured millions of dollars in advertising for the Senate race in Montana, but has not invested in Arizona.
Trump, Lake and new Arizona Republican Party chairwoman Gina Swoboda said in a statement, Jason Miller, a senior adviser to President Trump and an adviser to Lake’s campaign, said: unify your approach To victory Arizona.
Democrats view Lake as a vulnerable candidate who is prone to controversy. They have largely avoided involvement in the recent flare-up.
“It’s just a lot of drama, and you know, we don’t need that in Arizona,” Rep. Ruben Gallego, a leading Democratic Senate candidate, said on the local TV show “Politics Unplugged.”
In the spring, before Lake entered the Senate race, prominent national and local Republicans expressed skepticism about his chances of winning.She just lost the 2022 gubernatorial race. He won significant support in the election by about 17,000 votes. Democratic Party.Lake’s Republican Critics She worries that her political style is too extreme for moderate Republicans and independent voters, whose support is key to winning states that are no longer reliably red.
DeWitt has searched for other candidates and even compiled a list that includes some of the biggest names in Arizona sports, said a person familiar with the effort, who asked not to be identified. In early March, he drove to Ms. Lake’s home and had a private conversation with her to see if he could persuade her not to run away.
They sat across from each other in her living room while her little dog roamed around. According to a person familiar with the encounter. A campaign representative said Lake recorded the conversation, which is legal in Arizona, as a means of protecting himself. In doing so, Lake “exposed unethical individuals seeking bribes from the political community,” this person said. It didn’t work out, you can’t buy her. ”
Ten months later, the London-based Daily Mail published audio of the conversation ahead of major Republican conventions in each state and President Trump’s return to Arizona for the first time in more than a year. Without naming her, DeWitt told Lake that “very powerful people” in “Back East” did not want her to run. He said they are “going to put their money where their mouth is.” At one point, he asked, “What number—” before she interjected, “Can I afford it?”
After the audio was released, Lake presented the exchange as evidence that the political system is rife with corruption. Mr. DeWitt resigned, saying Mr. Lake’s team gave him his resignation. ultimatum to leave his post Or more audio will be released. Lake advisers said no such warning had been issued.
DeWitt said she was shocked to learn of the recording, calling it a “betrayal of trust.”
“Lake’s publication of our conversations confirms a disturbing trend of exploiting private interactions for personal gain,” he said.
Lake’s campaign did not address the issue when asked if there were any other records of his interactions with Republicans.
When it became clear that Lake would not be able to run for governor after the 2022 midterm elections, social media accounts associated with Lake’s campaign released calls from within the Republican political office between the office’s lawyers and their lawyers. I posted a video that captures some of it. Maricopa County Attorney.
some republicans They said they thought it was recorded by Lake. Because, as one person stated, “she always had something behind her arm” and that person thought it was a piece of audio equipment.
An Arizona Republican who spoke on the phone with Lake before he ran for Senate last year said the conversation was later recorded, according to three people briefed on the call and the existence of the recording. He says he learned that. Most of Lake’s conversation with 2022 Republican Senate candidates Blake Masters was considering running for Senate again this year. This article was published in the Daily Beast on September 12th. The article does not say that any recordings were made.
Lake’s memoir describes a meeting with Ducey after he won the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary, and notes that the then-governor barely spoke to him. Mr. Ducey was advised by his aides before the meeting to assume it was being recorded, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The controversy surrounding the recording has displeased some Republican activists, but probably not enough to turn them against her candidacy.
said Gila County Republican Committee Chairman Gary Morris. As a result of this incident, confidence in Lake decreased.
“Everyone who has worked with her and will continue to work with her will wonder, ‘Is she recording me?'” he said, expressing concern. said Morris, who joined in booing Lake as a way to do so. “The people who were booing felt betrayed. It shows you don’t record someone for personal gain outside of politics or in politics.”
Still, Morris said he still supports her.
Marianne Levine and Liz Goodwin contributed to this report.
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