The New Arizona GOP Chair’s Tricky Task: Keep a Messy Party United

Gina Swoboda is trying to accomplish something her most recent predecessors couldn’t pull off.

Republican candidate Kari Lake waves to supporters.
Kari Lake waves to supporters during a rally on Oct. 10, 2023, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Ross D. Franklin/AP

The new chair of the Republican Party in Arizona, a state central to every political fight for power in 2024, until a week ago was on nobody’s public shortlist for the job. So what happened? Simply put, the competition wasn’t fierce.

“Nobody wants the job, except for wack-a-doos” who want to push the party even further right, a prominent Arizona Republican told NOTUS.

Gina Swoboda, who had been the party’s third vice chair, was elected the new leader on Saturday of a party embroiled in chaos. Rumors started swirling weeks ago that Jeff DeWit, the then-chair, would be replaced at a meeting initially meant to elect lower-level officers. His fate was sealed when audio of him appearing to “bribe” Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake to leave the race, recorded by Lake, was published by the Daily Mail. DeWit resigned last week, saying in a letter that he was concerned more audio would be released if he did not.