Katie Hobbs says she won’t be part of ‘spectacle’ of debating Kari Lake

Arizona’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs on Sunday said she will not engage in the “spectacle” that would result from a debate with her GOP opponent with election day just a month away.

Hobbs and Lake both appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

“What I have been focused on is opportunities like this where they can see us back to back and hear directly from us about the issues that are important to Arizonans and how we would govern without a circus — like [Lake] created in the GOP Republican primary,” Hobbs said.

“I have no desire to be a part of the spectacle that she’s looking to create because that doesn’t do any service to the voters.”

Hobbs, Arizona’s secretary of state, has repeatedly refused to debate Lake, a former television anchor who is backed by former President Trump and denies the results of the 2020 election.

The Democrat rejected an independent state board’s attempt to moderate a debate last month after calling her opponent a “conspiracy theorist.” Her campaign team cited a June primary debate in which Lake repeated her denial of the 2020 election and cast Democrats as cheaters.

On Saturday, Lake appeared to attempt to confront Hobbs during a town hall event designed to have the two candidates address voters in separate time slots on the same stage.

After she was done giving her remarks, Lake, who was supposed to return to her holding room, sat in the front row of the stage before Hobbs was set to come out, according to NBC News. Hobbs did not come out and Lake eventually left after a moderator urged her to exit her front row seat in the audience.

Lake has attacked Hobbs as weak for refusing to debate. Polls have shown the two neck-and-neck heading into the home stretch.

When asked if Arizona voters deserve to see what the two candidates have to offer — spectacle or not — and decide for themselves, Hobbs said they have seen enough already.

“I think the voters of Arizona have had a chance to see how I work under crisis throughout my leadership in the 2020 election as secretary of state, when we had to combat multiple election challengers from former President Trump and his band of election deniers, including my opponent Kari Lake,” she said.