Current:Home > Contact-usArizona Republicans choose Trump favorite Gina Swoboda as party chair-LoTradeCoin
Arizona Republicans choose Trump favorite Gina Swoboda as party chair
View Date:2024-12-24 07:34:33
PHOENIX (AP) — Gina Swoboda, an election activist endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has been chosen as the next chair of the Arizona Republican Party, a leadership post that puts her center stage in the battleground state for November’s presidential election.
Fox10 television in Phoenix reported that Swoboda garnered 67% of the votes at Saturday’s state party meeting. The GOP declined to confirm that margin of victory to The Associated Press.
Swoboda replaces Jeff DeWit, who was halfway through his two-year term. He resigned Wednesday after a leaked audio recording revealed him offering a job to U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake and asking her to name a price that would keep her out of the 2024 election cycle.
At the time of the recording last March, Lake was waging an unsuccessful court fight challenging her loss in the 2022 race for Arizona governor even as she geared up for the U.S. Senate campaign. Meanwhile, Republicans in Washington, bruised by a disappointing showing in the midterms, were talking openly about plans to seek GOP Senate nominees who would be more viable in general elections.
DeWit was chief operating officer for Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns and chief financial officer at NASA during the Trump presidency.
He was seen as a trusted and experienced operative who could bridge the bitter divide between Trump loyalists and old guard Republicans in Arizona, many of whom were brought into the party by the late Sen. John McCain.
Swoboda is a former employee of the Arizona Secretary of State’s office and was the election day director of operations for Trump in 2020. She has been working for the Arizona Senate as a senior adviser on elections.
Lake, who is running for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat, congratulated Swoboda and called her win a “massive victory” for her campaign and Trump’s.
“Gina is a national leader in election law. She is a grassroots hero … is battle tested and a woman of great integrity,” Lake said in a statement. “Gina understands that the White House and Senate Majority —and frankly, the survival of our Republic — runs through State 48.”
veryGood! (92)
Related
- J.Crew Outlet Quietly Drops Their Black Friday Deals - Save Up to 70% off Everything, Styles Start at $12
- Survivors Laud Apple's New Tool To Spot Child Sex Abuse But The Backlash Is Growing
- Apple Will Scan U.S. iPhones For Images Of Child Sexual Abuse
- Check Out the Most Surprising Celeb Transformations of the Week
- Katherine Schwarzenegger Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Pratt
- Reporters Reveal 'Ugly Truth' Of How Facebook Enables Hate Groups And Disinformation
- Virginia Shifts $700 Million In Relief Funds To Boost Rural Broadband Access
- An Amazon Delivery Driver Killed A Spider For A Grateful Customer. There's A Video
- Sister Wives’ Madison Brush Details Why She Went “No Contact” With Dad Kody Brown
- Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, apologizes for asking boy to suck his tongue
Ranking
- Ex-Duke star Kyle Singler draws concern from basketball world over cryptic Instagram post
- Russia charges Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage, reports say
- Ben Ferencz, last living Nuremberg prosecutor, dies at age 103
- There's A Way You Can Beat The Best Investors. You've Just Got To Know When To Sell
- Homes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce burglarized, per reports
- Selena Gomez Praises Best Friend Francia Raísa Nearly 6 Years After Kidney Donation
- Lyft And Uber Prices Are High. Wait Times Are Long And Drivers Are Scarce
- Here's how to rethink your relationship with social media
Recommendation
-
Taylor Swift's Dad Scott Swift Photobombs Couples Pic With Travis Kelce
-
Pete Davidson ordered to do community service, traffic school after LA car crash
-
California Sues Gaming Giant Activision Blizzard Over Unequal Pay, Sexual Harassment
-
See Gisele Bündchen Strut Her Stuff While Pole Dancing in New Fashion Campaign
-
'Joker 2' actor pans DC sequel as the 'worst film' ever: 'It has no plot'
-
The White House Announces Additional Steps To Combat Ransomware
-
Liftoff! Jeff Bezos And 3 Crewmates Travel To Space And Back In Under 15 Minutes
-
Foreign Affairs committee head leads bipartisan delegation to Taiwan