Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs said on Thursday that for a second consecutive election, she will not participate in a debate.
Hobbs previously refused to participate in her primary and general election debates in 2022 before she stole the election from Trump-endorsed Kari Lake.
In a statement, Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont told 12 News, “We respectfully decline debate invitations in this campaign because face-to-face engagement with Arizonans is more effective than a stage designed for short soundbites and political theater.”
DeMont went on to say that Hobbs has done “more than 100 open-press events”; therefore, she’s exempt from the tradition of defending her candidacy on the debate stage.
Hobbs’ team issued a similar statement amid the controversy during the last election cycle, blaming the circumstances surrounding the debate, when she refused to square off against Kari Lake.
“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 last year.
Hellbound and Down 