PHOENIX — The needling from Republicans began after Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s Democratic candidate for governor, refused to take part in the election-year ritual of a televised debate, saying that she did not want to give a platform to Kari Lake, her election-denying Republican rival. Then came an uncomfortable encounter earlier this month, when Hobbs, Arizona’s secretary of state, was approached by a member of the conservative group Project Veritas as she ate alone at a fast-food restaurant. In he
Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, with Virginia's Gov. Glenn Youngkin at a campaign rally in Tucson, Ariz., Oct. 19, 2022.
Republicans are painting Hobbs as a candidate in absentia, and not tough or transparent enough to be governor. Her rival, Lake, a heat-seeking missile for the spotlight, has pulled a series of increasingly Barnumesque stunts to drive home the point. This week, that work included dealing with a voter-registration database error that affected as many as 6,000 voters, and with pushing back against a rural Arizona county’s plans to hand-count all their ballots.
In an email, Ross Trumble, a Lake campaign spokesperson, responded that Hobbs was “single-handedly destroying 20 years of debate tradition in Arizona while hiding from reporters in freight elevators.” The race appears to reflect a broader midterm trend that has seen politicians cut back on debates and carefully curate their public appearances to avoid the possibility of hostile questions or encounters with opponents. But in the bare-knuckle brawl for control of Arizona, a state that could be pivotal in the 2024 presidential election, even Hobbs’ supporters say they want to see her show more fight.
Brent Kleinman, who teaches business classes at Glendale Community College and supports Hobbs, said he thought she might be playing it too safe by appearing with abortion rights supporters or union members instead of seeking out audiences of Republicans and independent voters.
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