phoenix — Arizona Republicans elected former state treasurer and Donald Trump aide Jeff DeWitt as the party’s next chairman on Saturday, accustoming relations across the divided party after the worst election in decades. I turned to the person.
DeWit replaces Trump’s ally of fire Kelly Wardwho helped the former president try to overturn his 2020 election loss and was a vocal supporter of his false allegations that the election results were rigged. They openly advertised the election naysayers who lost the general election in January.
“I will work for you and we will stand together,” DeWitt said after winning.
DeWitt was backed by Kari Lake, who lost the gubernatorial race but became a right-wing rock star. Defeated Secretary of State candidate Mark Finkem. Retired General Michael Flynn. Just before the vote, Lake said Trump also endorsed DeWitt at the last minute, but the former president didn’t say anything on his social media accounts.
He won 70% of the vote over several other candidates, including Steve Daniels, who was chosen by some of the party’s most ardent supporters of blowing up the electoral system. After helping lead protests against face masks and critical racial theories, he founded the Arizona Patriot Party, hoping that all ballots would be cast in person in one day and votes counted by hand. increase.
Carolyn Custer/AP
During Ward’s four-year term, the Republicans lost three Senate elections and lost the state’s three highest offices: governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. In recent weeks, she’s faced criticism over Republican spending, including November’s election night bash, which she hoped would be a victory celebration for Republicans before they ran out of candidates.
DeWitt was elected state treasurer in 2014 and resigned in 2018, just before his term ended, to become NASA’s chief financial officer under the Trump administration. He led Trump’s Arizona campaign in 2016 and was the Chief Operating Officer for his 2020 campaign for Trump.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Democratic Party elected Yolanda Bejarano, a senior national official of the Telecommunication Workers Union of America, as party chairman after being contested for the first Democratic chairmanship in 12 years. Vejarano was backed by most of the state’s elected Democrats, but newly elected Governor Katie Hobbs supported Steve Gallardo, the only Democrat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
Democratic Speaker Raquel Terran has declined to run for the next term, saying she wants to focus on her role as a minority leader in the state Senate. He said he is considering running for office. Candidate for Senate.
The 2024 election will include several races with national significance. Arizona is likely to be a hotly contested presidential election, with independent Senator Kirsten Cinema’s seat on the ballot. Cinema is a former member of the Democratic Party and has alienated much of the party.
