WATCH: Jake Tapper Asks Katie Hobbs if it Would Be ‘Prudent’ To Follow ‘Insane’ Kari Lake’s Demand She Recuse From Midterms

CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs if it would be “prudent” for her to recuse from midterm election oversight — in the same breath as he noted the “insanity” of the opponent making the demand, Kari Lake.

On Thursday night’s edition of CNN Tonight with Jake Tapper, the host pressed Hobbs about a number of issues, including her refusal to debate “election liar” Lake. He also made several references to Lake’s sanity, but asked if it might be “prudent” for Hobbs to accede to Lake’s call for her to recuse from midterm oversight — which Hobbs has already refused — noting that her predecessors from both parties have expressed support for the idea:

TAPPER: So, in addition to being the democratic gubernatorial nominee, you’re the Secretary of State of Arizona, which means you’re in charge of supervising this election. There are calls that you should recuse yourself from overseeing the election, given the fact that you’re running for governor. It’s not just from wackos. Recently, two former Arizona secretaries of state, a Democrat and a Republican, said that to avoid even the appearance of a conflict, you should recuse. But in addition to that, we know Kari Lake insanely says she’s only going to accept the election results if she if she wins. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARI LAKE, (R) ARIZONA GOV. CANDIDATE: I’m going to win the election and I will accept that result because the people will never — the people of Arizona will never support and vote for a coward like Katie Hobbs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, I realize she’s out there. But given all the insanity out there, might the election results be tougher for her to challenge if you do, in fact, recuse yourself from your Secretary of State duties, specifically, just having to do with the governor’s race, might not be the most prudent thing to do?

HOBBS: Elected Secretaries of State in Arizona have overseen elections where they’re on the ballot since statehood. This has never been an issue until now. And I’m not going to recuse myself from the job that the voters elected me to do, and for which I took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the State of Arizona. I have done that throughout my tenure as Secretary of State. And I will continue to do that until I leave office on January 2.

TAPPER: All right —

HOBBS: Kari Lake is the one who is — oh go ahead.

TAPPER: Go ahead.

HOBBS: Oh, Kari Lake is the one who’s based her entire campaign on these false promises of election fraud. And she’s making these calls for my recusal to distract from her extreme positions, and to distract from the fact that she’s actually the one who wants to dismantle democracy in our state and country.

TAPPER: Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, thanks so much for joining us. Enjoy your next five days on the campaign trail.

Watch above via CNN Tonight with Jake Tapper.