Kari Lake’s “standing” with Arizona voters has improved following the leak of a tape in which the chairman of the Arizona GOP appeared to bribe the Senate candidate, according to a new polling memo from the Lake campaign.

The memo, shared with the Washington Examiner, finds that 7 in 10 likely Arizona voters heard about the story. Among those voters, Lake’s image improved by a 2-1 margin, 30% to 15%.

Chairman Jeff Dewit, who allegedly asked Lake to name a price for her to stay out of the Senate race, resigned within 24 hours of the tape’s release. He denounced the leak as a “selectively edited audio recording” but claimed Lake had given him an “ultimatum” — quit or else more tapes would be released.

Democrats have used the tape to cast Lake as a magnet for controversy, while the Lake campaign called her decision to reject a bribe evidence that she is an “extremely ethical person.” The campaign denied that Lake blackmailed Dewit to step down.

“Our campaign polled Arizona voters on the Jeff DeWit bribery incident and our data shows that it has improved rather than worsened voters’ view of Kari Lake,” said Landon Wall, Lake’s director of data.

Lake’s Senate run, announced in October, follows an unsuccessful campaign for governor that catapulted her to the national limelight with her claims of a stolen election. She is a close ally of former President Donald Trump. 

The memo, put together by JL Partners and Wall, shows her slightly ahead of the likely Democratic nominee, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), in a two-way matchup, 46% to 44%.

If incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) is included in the polling, Lake leads Gallego by a single point. Sinema, whose office declined to comment, attracted 13% support. 

Sinema has yet to announce her reelection plans, but her meager fourth-quarter fundraising has raised doubts about her intention to run.

A Gallego spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, but the results were similar to polling commissioned by a pro-Gallego PAC last month.

For Lake to advance to the general election, she must first defeat Mark Lamb, the sheriff of Pinal County, in the August primary. She handily outraised the sheriff in the fourth quarter, bringing in $2.1 million to Lamb’s $265,000.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has not endorsed in the race, but its chairman, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), has praised Lake as “one of the most talented politicians we have running in the 2024 cycle.”

“This poll makes clear that Arizonans aren’t interested in having a far-left radical like Ruben Gallego or Biden’s rubber stamp Kyrsten Sinema representing them in the U.S. Senate,” NRSC spokesman Tate Mitchell said in a statement. “Arizona continues to be one of the top pick-up opportunities for Republicans this year.”

Arizona Statewide Polling – Memo by web-producers on Scribd