Democratic Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs again declined Sunday an invitation to debate Republican challenger Cary Lake ahead of the November election. Hobbs, the current state secretary of state, proposed instead a town hall-style event in which each candidate is questioned separately. Last week, Hobbs and Lake participated in this style of event at a forum hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. But the Democrat refuses to discuss Lake, even as the Political Clean Elections Commission, a state commission that monitors and organizes debates, denied Hobbs’ request last week to hold separate forums at the town hall. “Unfortunately, debating a conspiracy theorist like Kari Lake — whose entire campaign platform is to cause massive chaos and make Arizona a national laughingstock — would only lead to constant interruptions, pointless distractions and childish name-calling,” said Hobbs’ campaign manager. Nicole DeMont said in a statement. ARIZONA’S BLAKE MASTERS SAYS THE VOTERS QUESTION WHY THE PEOPLE OF WASHINGTON AREN’T INVESTING MORE IN THIS RACE Democratic Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs has again declined an invitation to debate Republican challenger Cary Lake ahead of the November election.
“The people of Arizona deserve so much better than Kari Lake, and that’s why we’re confident that Katie Hobbs will be elected as our next governor,” the statement continued. “We must respectfully decline the invitation.” The committee said Thursday it had given the candidates a week to agree to minor changes for the debate scheduled for Oct. 12. The statement from Hobbs’ campaign indicated that a debate is unlikely to take place. Hobbs’ campaign worries that a debate with Lake would be a repeat of the Republican primary debate, when the GOP nominee embraced former President Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Lake, a former television news anchor, also suggested that Democrats would cheat in the 2022 election. DC COUNCIL MEMBER SLAMS BORDER GOVERNORS OVER IMMIGRATION EMERGENCY Hobbs’ campaign worries that a debate with Kari Lake would be a repeat of the Republican primary debate, when the GOP front-runner embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. (Caitlin O’Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Hobbs’ campaign statement citing a potentially chaotic debate with Lake refers to the GOP primary debate that featured four candidates repeatedly discussing and interrupting each other. Hobbs also skipped the debate with her Democratic opponent Marco Lopez, who instead participated in a solo interview. The Republican said she has already agreed to discuss the rules. Hobbs’ campaign statement citing a potentially chaotic debate with Lake refers to the GOP primary debate that featured four candidates repeatedly discussing and interrupting each other.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Every day it becomes clearer [sic] that Hobbs’ strategy is to hide from me, the press and the voters throughout this campaign and run out the clock on the people of Arizona,” Lake said in a statement Thursday. “Thankfully, the Clean Elections Commission refused to play their game and voted down her proposal for a safe space at city hall.” Lake said Hobbs is welcome to participate in the Oct. 12 debate if he “grows a spine” between now and then. Arizona’s governor’s race is shaping up to be a toss-up.