After Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and her Democrat opponent Secretary of State Katie Hobbs spent the week dueling over who will best secure Arizona’s southern border, the Republican National Committee (RNC) jumped into the battle to highlight Hobbs’s penchant for open borders.
“Democrats couldn’t help themselves nominating another open borders candidate for governor,” said RNC Spokesperson Ben Petersen. “Now Katie Hobbs is cratering with Arizona voters as they learn about her radical open borders record and defund the police ties.”
In a press release, the RNC listed 12 instances wherein Hobbs either downplayed the crisis at the southern border or outrightly supported open borders policies.
For example, Hobbs said in May that it was “ridiculous” to even be discussing the southern border during the gubernatorial race. She has a history of passing the buck on border security to the federal government, which the RNC also highlighted.
The RNC also noted that Hobbs flip-flopped on her stance regarding Title 42, the Trump-era program that allowed law enforcement entities to send illegal aliens immediately back to Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hobbs was initially in favor of ending the program – toeing the party line with her fellow Democrats – but then was against ending the program when it became politically expedient.
Title 42 has now been abolished by the Biden administration.
After a combative radio interview in May, the RNC noted that Hobbs had flip-flopped on Title 42, and that she could not remember the last time she had visited the southern border.
“In a single interview, Democrat Katie Hobbs lied about flip-flopping on Title 42, bizarrely blamed Republicans for Joe Biden’s open borders and could not recall when was the last time she visited the border,” Petersen said at the time. “Katie Hobbs’ interview was nothing short of disastrous and revealed again just how unprepared she is to be governor of a border state.”
The list also noted what is perhaps Hobb’s most notorious open borders moment, when she voted in favor of sanctuary cities during her time in the state legislature.
Meanwhile, Lake has been steadfast in her support for closing the border, earning the support of Sheriff Mark Lamb of Pinal County, one of the border’s toughest sheriffs.
He said of Lake:
Kari Lake has a bold and aggressive plan to help end the Border Crisis here in Arizona. Her plan would declare an invasion at the Southern Border and mobilize the resources and personnel that Arizona needs to keep our communities safe from human trafficking and the deadly fentanyl poison that is harming Arizona families everyday.
You’re going to hear tough talk from her opponent about securing the border, but that is more political BS just to get your vote. Katie Hobbs has openly opposed filling the border wall gaps and supported ending Title 42, which makes our jobs harder and puts us in the line of fire. We cannot afford a Governor who will do nothing to stop the unprecedented human trafficking and drug trafficking at our southern border. We don’t need ‘politics’ we need ‘ACTION’, which is why Kari Lake is the only candidate for governor that can help law enforcement protect Arizona.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Katie Hobbs” by Katie Hobbs.
