Arizona’s Democrat gubernatorial candidate continues to be hobbled by her refusal to debate her Republican opponent, this time refusing to discuss the issue with a concerned citizen.
“Hey, Secretary of State Hobbs, I’m just wondering: why aren’t you debating Kari Lake?” a man said, filming Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in a Starbucks.
“I’m not gonna talk about it,” Hobbs said flippantly.
“Okay, because – I mean – the people want to hear. So, I’m just kind of wondering,” the man says.
“I’m not going to talk to you,” Hobbs said in response to the second inquiry.
The man then points out that Hobbs is trailing by a significant margin in the polls, and walks away.
Lake, a firebrand former television anchor who is surging in the polls, used the video to attack her opponent.
“I’m a battle-tested statewide leader with a track record of getting the job done. As governor, I’ll strengthen public education funding, fight for good-paying jobs, and tackle the water crisis. Arizona deserves a governor who can deliver real solutions to its toughest challenges,” Hobbs claimed on Twitter.
“Last week you fled from a question a kid asked you at Starbucks,” the campaign said in response, attaching the video clip.
Last week you fled from a question a kid asked you at Starbucks. pic.twitter.com/GdmbefUymN
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) October 2, 2022
The exchange stemmed from Hobbs’ now-infamous refusal to debate Lake, the latter of whom has made the issue central to her campaign.
Lake even said that Hobbs could choose the time and place for the debate, and pre-select the questions.
“For the first time in the history of our state there will be no Clean Elections gubernatorial debate,” Lake said in September. “Bucking state tradition, my opponent Katie Hobbs has made it official: she will not share a debate stage with me under any circumstance.”
Lake offered to extend the deadline for the debate until October 12, when early voting begins in Arizona.
“You think this issue is going to go away – that Arizonans will just throw up their hands and say, ‘oh well, no debate this year,’” Lake said. “Well, you’re sorely mistaken. I have asked the clean elections commission to extend the deadline for you to confirm your attendance to the day of the debate. Should you grow a spine between now and October 12, there will be an empty chair waiting for you on the debate stage.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Katie Hobbs” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
