Democrat refuses to debate Trump-backed Kari Lake in Arizona governor race

Trump-backed Kari Lake is poised to have the debate stage all to herself after her Democratic opponent for Arizona governor refused to accept the format.

Katie Hobbs, the current Arizona secretary of state, must “respectfully decline” an invitation for the debate scheduled for Oct. 12, her campaign manager said on Sunday.

ARIZONA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE KARI LAKE WANTS TO ABOLISH STATE INCOME TAX IF ELECTED

The decision comes after Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the state agency that sets up debates, had rejected her request last to alter the format into separate 30-minute “town hall-style” interviews as opposed to a direct face-off.

Lake, a former journalist who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, knocked Hobbs in a statement last week saying her “strategy is to hide from Me, the Press, and the Voters throughout the entirety of this campaign and run out the clock on the people of Arizona.”

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Hobbs has been critical of Lake skepticism of the 2020 election. A debate with Lake, according Hobbs campaign manager Nicole DeMont, would “only lead to constant interruptions, pointless distractions, and childish name-calling.”

Hobbs similarly declined to participate in a head-to-head debate against Marco Lopez in the Democratic primary. Polling generally shows a tight race between Lake and Hobbs in the general election, with the Democrat having a slight but shrinking advantage.