- Jeff DeWit on Wednesday resigned as the chairman of the Arizona Republican Party following an audio leak of a conversation he had with US Senate candidate Kari Lake. NBC (LR: 2 CP: 4)
- The audio appears to show DeWit offering to pay Lake not to run in 2024, but the now-former GOP chairman claims the tape was "selectively edited." NBC (LR: 2 CP: 4)
- In the audio, which was recorded at Lake's home in early March last year and recently leaked to The Daily Mail, DeWit can be heard saying "There are very powerful people who want to keep you out [of the Senate race]." He then says that people "back east" asked him if there are "any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll to keep her out." Daily Mail (LR: 5 CP: 5)
- Following the release of the audio, Lake — a staunch supporter of Republican former Pres. Donald Trump, who's the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination — said in an interview that someone "who's corrupt and compromised" shouldn't be running the state GOP. Independent (LR: 2 CP: 3)
- Lake is a former news anchor who lost her run for Arizona governor in 2022, but, like Trump, refused to concede. She previously alluded to her interaction with DeWit while speaking at the Conservative Policiation Action Conference, where she told the crowd the chat proved "how disgusting politics is." Independent (LR: 2 CP: 3)
Right narrative:
- Finally, Lake has specifically called out DeWit and forced the left-leaning mainstream media to cover this corruption after her accusation was previously covered as though it was a conspiracy theory. Lake brought receipts to show what elites in DC are willing to do to maintain their grip on power. This is why the US Senate needs someone like Lake.
The Post Millennial
Left narrative:
- Lake, who often wears a wire for some inexplicable reason, is clearly guilty of entrapping DeWit, whom the MAGA wing of the GOP has been trying to oust. Lake's too much a devoted champion of another Trump and his conspiracies to be trusted. No one should fall for these bad-faith actions.
The Arizona Republic
Nerd narrative:
- There's a 10% chance that Lake will be the 2024 Republican nominee for vice president on Election Day, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)