(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- Last Friday, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Democrat Katie Hobbs declined a televised debate with her Republican challenger, Kari Lake, proposing instead that each candidate receive separate “town hall” interviews with a moderator.
In short, Katie Hobbs does not want to face off against Kari Lake.
Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, cited a Republican primary debate from August 2 as the reason Hobbs is refusing, claiming that Hobbs does not want a debate full of “constant interruptions, pointless distractions, childish name-calling, tired conspiracy theories, and demonstrably false accusations.”
There’s always an excuse, isn’t there?
John Fetterman won’t debate Dr. Oz because the Oz campaign is mean to him. And Katie Hobbs won’t debate Kari Lake because a previous Republican primary debate got out of hand.
Kari Lake has already agreed to the debate and its format, which has been the standard format for years.
In a podcast interview last Friday, Lake called Hobbs a coward and offered to follow any rules the Hobbs campaign wanted, “just show up and debate me.”
A spokesman for the Lake campaigned bashed Hobbs’ request for separate “town hall” interviews saying interviews are not debates. Spokesman Ross Trumble said voters deserve more than “the two candidates sitting in separate rooms.”
The Hobbs campaign has been in talks with the Citizens Clean Election Commission and Arizona’s public television station for weeks trying to agree on the terms for the October 12 debate which would be televised and live-streamed on Arizona PBS as well as other local stations.
The bottom line is this. Kari Lake is a veteran TV reporter. She is masterful on camera and very well-spoken. Katie Hobbs isn’t afraid of the debate devolving into “childish name-calling” or any of the other excuses. She’s just afraid Kari Lake will mop the floor with her.
But Hobbs’ refusal may be a boon to her Republican opponent.
If the Democrat candidate refuses to appear at the October 12 debate, the Citizens Clean Election Commission said it will conduct a 30-minute question and answer session with just Kari Lake.
