Arizona Democrat Refuses to Debate ‘Conspiracy Theorist’ Kari Lake, Argues it Would Create ‘Pointless Distractions and Childish Name-Calling’

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Arizona secretary of state and Democratic nominee for governor, Katie Hobbs, officially refused on Sunday to take place in a debate with her GOP opponent Kari Lake scheduled for mid-October.

“Unfortunately, debating a conspiracy theorist like Kari Lake – whose entire campaign platform is to cause enormous chaos and make Arizona the subject of national ridicule – would only lead to constant interruptions, pointless distractions, and childish name-calling,” the Hobbs campaign said in a statement on its website Sunday.

The statement served as a response to Arizona’s Citizens Clean Election Commission, which offered Hobbs last week to propose rules for a head-to-head debate. Hobbs, instead, offered a town-hall style format in which each candidate would be questioned separately – a proposal that was rejected.

“Arizonans deserve so much better than Kari Lake, and that’s why we’re confident Katie Hobbs will be elected our next governor,” the statement attributed to Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, added.

Lake, who has centered her hard-right, Trump-backed campaign around debunked allegations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, has made an issue of Hobbs refusing to debate and has accused the Democrat of hiding.

“It’s becoming clearer everyday that Hobbs’ strategy is to hide from Me, the Press, and the Voters throughout the entirety of this campaign and run out the clock on the people of Arizona,” Lake tweeted last week.

“I will be taking part in the debate format that I already agreed to, and if Katie Hobbs grows a spine between now and October 12th, she is welcome to join me!” added Lake in a statement of her own.

Hobbs also received criticism for refusing to debate her Democratic primary opponent Marco Lopez and is so far the only candidate for statewide office in Arizona refusing to debate, notes the Arizona Daily Star.

“Hobbs’ decision means that Lake will get 30 minutes of her own on KAET-TV, the Phoenix PBS affiliate. It is set to be held on Oct. 12, with questions from Ted Simons, who has hosted other debates. That is precisely what happened when Hobbs snubbed a debate with Lopez,” concluded the Star.

Lake, who has been a lightning rod of controversy during her campaign for pushing elections conspiracy theories, attacks on late Sen. John McCain, and bombastic attacks on President Joe Biden and the federal government, is tied with Hobbs in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. Lake and Hobbs both have 45.3 percent of the vote in the polling average.