PHOENIX — If you pay electricity bills, you might be interested in the race for Arizona Republican Party chairman.
A leading candidate for a job that requires a lot of political fundraising oversees utility companies like Arizona Public Service that happen to spend a lot of money on politics.
Despite all that, Arizona Corporation Commission Chairman Jim O'Connor got the green light from a commission lawyer to run for party chair, according to a letter obtained by 12News.
The possible of election of a new GOP chairman at the party's annual meeting Saturday would cap a turbulent week for Arizona Republicans.
Weeklong drama for GOP
A weeklong drama pit U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, one of Donald Trump's most ardent supporters, against former party chairman Jeff DeWit, Trump's earliest endorser in 2015 and a former top official in two Trump campaigns.
DeWit stepped down as party chair Wednesday after audio that Lake secretly recorded 10 months ago revealed that he offered her a job and money not to run for the Senate in 2024.
Lake accused DeWit of bribing her; DeWit claimed she blackmailed him into stepping down.
Lake has still not explained why she didn't release the tape before it was posted Tuesday on DailyMail.com.
The party suffered a blow to its bank account when Trump ditched a party-sponsored "Freedom Fest" fund-raiser Friday night. A spokesman said Trump had to be in a New York City court Friday morning for closing arguments in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case. Trump walked out of the courtroom after 10 minutes.
Party officials said they would refund tickets for the fundraiser within the next week.
GOP meeting could expose rifts
The annual gathering on Saturday at the Dream City megachurch in north Phoenix could expose deep rifts in the party.
An election to replace DeWit isn't a certainty. The agenda doesn't show a scheduled vote for chairman.
Party insiders said a fight over by-laws will determine whether it happens.
On Friday evening, a Lake post on social media revealed that she and Trump's choice for party chair was Gina Swoboda.
Elected Arizona Republicans, such as Congressmen Andy Biggs of Gilbert and Eli Crane of Tucson, and State Sen. Wendy Rogers of Flagstaff, immediately endorsed Swodoba. All are election deniers. So did Mike Lindell, the "My Pillow" guy, a Lake patron and prolific spreader of lies about elections.
Swoboda is a former employee of the Arizona Secretary of State's office who was Trump's election day director of operations in 2020. She has been branded an elections expert by Lake and others who, despite defeats at every level of the court system, reject the results of the 2020 and '22 elections. Swoboda is currently advising the Senate Elections Committee, which Rogers chairs.
Under DeWit's predecessor, Kelli Ward, the Arizona Republican Party dug a deep financial hole by paying for meritless election challenges. DeWit spent his year as party chair rebuilding the party's finances.
He took the job vowing to end the court challenges and win elections, after historic GOP defeats in three consecutive cycles.
With Arizona being a swing state once again in the 2024 presidential election, a Trump ally leading the Arizona Republican Party could prove valuable during the campaign and should he seek, once again, to overturn the election results.
O'Connor also rejected results
O'Connor, the Corporation Commission chairman, also rejected the 2022 election results that saw Republicans lose three statewide offices, including governor.
Jen Fifield of Votebeat reported Friday on O'Connor's letter to the Maricopa County supervisors in November 2022 demanding that they delay certifying the election.
The five-member Corporation Commission regulates the state's major electric, water and gas companies.
'Party chair's 3 jobs'
"The state party chair has three jobs: to raise money, to raise more money, and then to raise a boatload of money," Barrett Marson, a longtime Republican consultant, said on this weekend's taping of "Sunday Square Off" on 12News.
That fund-raising requirement would appear to create conflicts for O'Connor, a utility watchdog elected by Arizonans. The companies he oversees and their employees are major political donors.
But O'Connor has already been cleared for the state party job, by a lawyer who works for the Corporation Commission.
12News obtained a legal opinion dated Jan. 8 that O'Connor requested after he was "asked to serve" as party chair.
The opinion's conclusion:
"There does not appear to be any legal or ethical prohibition to your serving as both a commissioner and the Chair of the Republican Party."
O'Connor didn't respond to requests for comment from 12News.
O'Connor has denied that there was any connection between the Lake audio leak days before the Republican Party's annual meeting and his plan to run for chairman at the meeting.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
Arizona Politics
Track all of our current updates with Arizona politics on our 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe for updates on all of our new uploads.