Governor candidate Katie Hobbs (D) speaking at a news conference at Barry Goldwater Park on Oct. 9, 2022.
By Stacey Barchenger & Taylor Seely || Arizona Republic
Democratic candidate for governor Katie Hobbs stayed on message and reiterated many of her same points on the economy, abortion, education and immigration during a 30-minute interview with Arizona PBS on Tuesday.
What was unusual, however, was how the interview itself came to be — and its aftermath.
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Hobbs initially refused to debate Republican nominee Kari Lake, a former television news anchor, and Arizona PBS’s subsequent offer to interview Hobbs ruptured a longstanding relationship between the station and the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
In the interview, “Arizona Horizon” show host Ted Simons pressed Hobbs, Arizona’s sitting secretary of state, on accusations from her opponent as well as policy issues.
Hobbs defended her choice not to debate Lake saying she isn’t a “coward” and reiterating previous points she’s made about keeping Arizona out of the spotlight and not embarrassing the state on a national scale.
Evading the question about why she skipped facing a Democratic opponent in a debate ahead of the primary election as well, Hobbs said it “wasn’t an issue” since voters overwhelmingly chose her.
Following the interview, she quickly left through a freight elevator as reporters were forced to wait in another room.
