(From left) Scott Neely, Kari Lake, Ted Simons, Paola Tulliani Zen and Karrin Taylor Robson prepare before a debate with Republican candidates ahead of the Aug. 2, 2022, primary election for the Arizona governor’s office in Phoenix. || KAET TV 8
Mary Jo Pitzl
Arizona Republic
Candidate debates in next year’s elections will see a new format, more advertising and working journalists as moderators under a plan approved by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
The publicly funded commission convened a work group this spring to take a fresh look at the debate process after the flurry of debates last year when every statewide office, from U.S. Senate to governor to treasurer, was on the ballot, said Gina Roberts, the commission’s voter education director.
That cycle saw a meltdown just hours before the debate among Republican gubernatorial candidates last summer. Kari Lake threatened to not participate when she learned that Arizona Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger, who covered the heated gubernatorial race, would serve as one of the moderators. Lake objected to Barchenger’s coverage.
The commission did not know of Barchenger’s participation, which was arranged by Arizona PBS, which broadcast the debate. Barchenger was removed as a co-moderator.
During the general election campaign in the fall, Democrat Katie Hobbs declined to participate in the commission-sponsored governor’s debate. Lake, who did not object to the debate format, then accepted a one-on-one interview sponsored by the commission.
But the commission abruptly canceled that interview when it learned that PBS had offered Hobbs a separate interview, not arranged by the commission.
The commission later sponsored a one-on-one interview with Lake on a different media channel and conducted by conservative talk show host Mike Broomhead.
Roberts said the controversy played a minor role in the discussions held by the work group.
