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Trump endorses ally for AZ Republican Party chair after Jeff DeWit resigns over Kari Lake tape

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Trump endorses ally for AZ Republican Party chair after Jeff DeWit resigns over Kari Lake tape


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On a day when Donald Trump was told he had to pay $83.3 million to a woman for defaming her, the former president took time to endorse one of his former campaign officials for chair of the Arizona Republican Party.

He picked Gina Swoboda, a conservative election activist and former Trump campaign official who is a current officer in the state GOP.

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The nod to Arizona politics as the federal jury award came down in New York shows both how important the state is to Trump’s 2024 presidential hopes and how Trump felt he needed to quickly straighten out the mess caused by the Kari Lake-caused resignation of the former chair, Jeff DeWit.

DeWit resigned Wednesday after Lake, the Trump-endorsed candidate running for U.S. Senate in Arizona, released an audio recording she had made of DeWit telling her that “powerful people” wanted to give her a lucrative job in exchange for halting her Senate campaign. Though Lake secretly recorded the conversation in March, she released the recording days before the annual state Republican Party meeting on Saturday, creating a rush of candidates for the chair job.

Trump canceled his attendance at the state GOP’s planned FreedomFest rally after DeWit’s resignation, which led the party to cancel the rally. State party officials, including DeWit, had counted on the rally to help raise money.

Trump’s spokespeople said he had a court hearing on Friday and couldn’t make the event. Trump attended closing arguments on Friday, though he walked out briefly as plaintiff E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer was speaking. A jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defaming her in 2019 after she accused him of rape.

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Former president loses lawsuit: Trump hit with $83.3 million in damages for defaming E. Jean Carroll

Trump’s campaign team said in a statement he spoke with Swoboda on Friday.

“Gina is a strong fighter for election integrity and will be relentless in her work to deliver Arizona for President Trump and Kari Lake in 2024,” the statement said.

Lake soon followed by also endorsing Swoboda.

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Not filling the position immediately would mean a 45-day delay, because the party’s bylaws require that amount of time to arrange a special election meeting. That’s a long time in an election year when every month counts. Putting a poor fundraiser in the job could be an even worse move for the party.

‘Betrayal’: Arizona GOP Chair Jeff DeWit resigns after recording of ‘offer’ to Kari Lake

DeWit was elected last year as the state GOP faced a financial disaster some blamed on former party Chair Kelli Ward.

The unpaid job is primarily about raising as much money as possible for elections up and down the ballot, said Barrett Marson, a Republican political consultant.

“A problem with taking out Jeff DeWit is, who do you replace him with that can raise money and lead the party in an election year?” Marson said. “A Trump-endorsed chair could be good for fundraising. The Republican National Committee will likely funnel a lot of money to the Arizona GOP.”

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But Marson said he’s not familiar with Swoboda’s fundraising ability.

Swoboda does have experience in helping Trump find suspected election fraud. As executive director of the Voter Reference Foundation, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Restoration Action Inc., she pushes the idea that elections aren’t secure and mailed ballots aren’t to be trusted.

The company has been accused in articles by OpenSecret.org of disseminating false claims about voting discrepancies, but the company says on its website its goals are to increase voter participation and ensure elections are “transparent, accurate and fair.”

Swoboda worked last year as the state Senate’s adviser on election matters and also worked as “election integrity director” for Lake’s failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

‘Disgusting’: Kari Lake assails former AZ GOP boss Jeff DeWit, doesn’t say why she released ‘bribe’ recording

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Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.





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Arizona

Wildcat fire in Arizona grows to more than 14,000 acres – KYMA

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Wildcat fire in Arizona grows to more than 14,000 acres – KYMA


MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. (CNN, KYMA/KECY) – A 14,000 acre wildfire, named the Wildcat Fire, was 0% contained on Monday.

It sparked in the Tonto National Forest on Saturday, and high winds stopped firefighters efforts from the air.

One gate is closed for travel as a major fire burns through short grass and brush within Tonto National Forest.

“I mean, it was concerning, I guess the first night that we saw it just because we could see it right over the top of this house right here,” said Lucas Raymond, an Arizona resident.

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Clearing the lot

Raymond and his family live in nearby Rio Verde. They’re ready to go in case the fire makes an unexpected turn.

They protected their home by clearing the lot around their neighborhood.

“Yeah, I mean, we have a three year old so I mean, we, we stay mobile as much as we possibly can, but we definitely have a plan if we need to get out of here. We can get out of here,” Raymond spoke.

Other residents nearby taking the risks in stride.

Hopeful

Hoping the weather and the universe will corporative, Nina Devries moved here just about a year ago and she’s feeling hopeful.

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“We have hoses around the building. Several of them and they are connected so we would pick them up and try to keep things dry. But, basically just say positive and know that it’s going to be taken care of,” Devries expressed.

Those strong winds with around 40 mile per hour gusts forcing crews to ground their air units for a few hours.

On Monday, they’ll send them back up once the weather gets better, and around 300 fire personnel are battling the blaze right now and a lot of work lies ahead to contain this fire.

Good news

But there’s good news, humidity is up and temperatures are down.

There was also a little rain for the neighbors on Monday. It’s anything that will keep their homes fire free.

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“Oh, it would be devastating. People love this area out here. I mean, the the residents out here fight for, fight for it out here. It’s not the easiest place to live,” Raymond added.

On Sunday afternoon, officials confirmed another wildfire, named the Basin Fire. It is burning southeast of the Wildcat Fire, but forward progress for this fire has reportedly been stopped.



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Baseball: Dodgers' potent offense helps Yamamoto get win over Arizona

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Baseball: Dodgers' potent offense helps Yamamoto get win over Arizona


Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw 6-1/3 innings of two-run ball and Freddie Freeman delivered a grand slam among three home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

With plenty of backing from the powerful Dodger lineup, Yamamoto (5-1) struck out eight while allowing seven hits and one walk in another solid start for the National League West leaders, who extended their winning streak to four.

The Japanese right-hander surrendered a 1-0 lead when Joc Pederson hit a line-drive single with two out and two on in the top of the third at Dodger Stadium.

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on May 20, 2024. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Los Angeles quickly turned things around, however, racking up six runs against right-hander Slade Cecconi (1-4) in the home half of the inning.

Enrique Hernandez tied it with his solo homer and Shohei Ohtani drew a walk to load the bases before Freeman put the Dodgers up 5-1 with his fifth long bomb of the season. Will Smith extended the lead with a solo blast.

Yamamoto exited after giving up an RBI single to Kevin Newman in the seventh, while Ohtani finished 1-for-3 with a run scored.

“I allowed the first run but was able to reset myself (mentally),” Yamamoto said.

The three-time MVP of Japan’s Pacific League threw an MLB career-high 100 pitches, including 69 strikes.

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“My number of good pitches increased as the second half of the game progressed,” he said. “I felt like I was throwing with a good tempo.”


Related coverage:

Baseball: Yamamoto gets 4th win after longest MLB start

Baseball: Shohei Ohtani’s walk-off single lifts Dodgers past Reds

Baseball: Cubs’ Shota Imanaga gets 5th win with gem against Mets

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Arizona State men, women golf teams out of NCAA postseason; Arizona men advance

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Arizona State men, women golf teams out of NCAA postseason; Arizona men advance


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Four days after the Arizona State men’s golf team was eliminated in the Rancho Santa Fe (California) Regional, just the fifth time that a No. 1 seed failed to make it to the NCAA championship since 2009, the ASU women’s team was knocked out of the postseason. Missy Farr-Kaye’s squad finished 16th, one stroke out of the top 15 that advanced after the first of two cuts in the women’s postseason championship.

Two ASU golfers advanced as individuals, however, as senior Ashley Menne and Patience Rhodes got through the final day. The second cut was set for Monday night and will send the top eight teams to match play with the championship finale set for Wednesday.

The Arizona Wildcats are among the top 30 men’s teams to advance to Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, California, for the men’s championship, which runs May 24-29. UA finished third in the West Lafayette Regional. After missing last year, Arizona will make its 29th championship appearance.

Local juniors shine

Peoria Sunrise Mountain alum Ben Lorenz, who plays collegiately at Oklahoma, won medalist honors at the Rancho Santa Fe Reginal. He helped OU become one of the 30 teams to advance to Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, California, for the championship, which runs May 24-29.

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Max Lyons from Phoenix was named the Big East Men’s Golfer of the Year after his junior season at Marquette. He led the league with a 72.33 scoring average with 17 par-or-better rounds.

Scottsdale Christian Academy graduate Gracie McGovern, now a freshman at TCU, along with Brynn Kort, finished runners-up in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in San Antonio last week.

Rahm, Mickelson miss cut at PGA

Phil Mickelson, who won the PGA Championship three years ago, missed the cut in the major this time around, as did fellow former ASU golfer Jon Rahm. For Rahm, it snapped his cuts made streak in the majors at 18, which had led all pro golfers.



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