{"id":1672544,"date":"2022-10-04T15:03:37","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T19:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1672544"},"modified":"2022-10-04T15:04:37","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T19:04:37","slug":"kari-lake-responds-to-opponents-refusal-to-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kari-lake-responds-to-opponents-refusal-to-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Kari Lake Responds to Opponent&#8217;s Refusal to Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkari-lake-responds-to-opponents-refusal-to-debate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1672544&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>TUCSON, Ariz.\u2014Democratic candidate for Arizona governor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-katie-hobbs\">Katie Hobbs<\/a> has refused to debate her Republican opponent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-kari-lake\">Kari Lake<\/a> ahead of the Nov. 8 mid-term election, with her campaign telling local media she won\u2019t argue with a \u201cconspiracy theorist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Hobbs, Arizona\u2019s secretary of state, requested a \u201ctown hall-style\u201d format where each candidate would sit for a 30-minute interview in a controlled setting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecretary Hobbs remains willing and eager to participate in a town hall style event, such as the forum she participated in [September] in which Arizonans were able to hear directly from Sec[retary] Hobbs about her in-depth policy plans and how she would approach governing this state,\u201d wrote Nicole DeMont, Hobbs\u2019 campaign manager, in a letter to the Citizens Clean Elections Commission in Phoenix.<\/p>\n<p>The commission sponsors public debates each election cycle so Arizona voters can better gauge the candidates running for office.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4635196\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/01\/Katie-Hobbs-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4635196\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/01\/Katie-Hobbs-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"Election 2022 Governor Arizona\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Arizona Democratic candidate for governor Katie Hobbs speaks to the media before dropping off her primary election ballot in Scottsdale, Ariz., on July 21, 2022. (Ross Franklin\/AP Photo)<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, debating a conspiracy theorist like Kari Lake\u2014whose entire campaign platform is to cause enormous chaos and make Arizona the subject of national ridicule\u2014would only lead to constant interruptions, pointless distractions, and childish name-calling,\u201d DeMont said in the letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must respectfully decline the invitation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lake called Hobbs\u2019 refusal to debate her one-on-one a political act of \u201ccowardice\u201d on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Either way, it appears the voters will never get the chance to hear these two ideologically opposed gubernatorial candidates debate in a public forum, pitting their ideas\u2014and political agendas\u2014against one another.<\/p>\n<h2>Debates Are \u2018Critical\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The political debate is perhaps as old as politics itself. It\u2019s an opportunity for the voters to gauge the candidates\u2019 image, honesty, and substance.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s considered democracy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDebates are a critical tool for voters to learn directly from the candidates about where they stand on the issues,\u201d said Clean Elections voter education director Gina Roberts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVoters are often inundated with messaging from different sources during the election season, and debates offer voters a direct line of communication with the candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roberts told The Epoch Times that Clean Elections has a successful history of providing voters with access to statewide and legislative candidate debates, \u201calong with an opportunity to submit their questions for the candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost recently, a poll commissioned by Clean Elections identified debates as a primary source of election information for general election voters,\u201d Roberts added.<\/p>\n<p>Clean Elections rejected Hobbs\u2019 request for a town hall-style format.\u00a0What seems to have evolved in this debate-free environment are two separate campaign strategies for reaching out to Arizona\u2019s committed and undecided voters.<\/p>\n<p>Trump-endorsed candidate Lake recently went on the road with a series of live \u201cAsk Me Anything\u201d events, where voters can ask her any question about the campaign\u2019s issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all politics right now, and politics matter. This is just a job interview, and you guys are the hiring managers. I\u2019m applying for a job interview, and we\u2019re taking the job interview on the road since my opponent is hiding in her basement,\u201d Lake said at a packed \u201cAsk Me Anything\u201d session at Whiskey Roads Restaurant in Tucson on Oct. 2.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomebody ran into her in a Starbucks, and they asked her a question, \u2018Why don\u2019t you do an interview and debate Kari Lake?\u2019 She said I\u2019m not answering anything. Here we are, answering everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lake is unapologetically pro-life and opposes progressive education that includes transgenderism and Critical Race Theory. She supports the Second Amendment, border security, school choice, and election integrity with the campaign slogan, \u201cDon\u2019t California Our Arizona.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hobbs is a former Arizona state senator, and a social worker whose politics are decidedly progressive. She was elected Arizona\u2019s secretary of state in 2018, presiding over Arizona\u2019s controversial 2020 presidential election which turned up numerous ballot discrepancies resulting in a Republican state-Senate sponsored election audit in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Hobbs has vowed on her website that on \u201cday one\u201d as governor, she would repeal Arizona\u2019s 1901 law banning abortion and replace it with one that is \u201cin line with the beliefs of the vast majority of Arizonans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She supports making state government more \u201cinclusive\u201d by hiring and promoting more people of color, creating the position of chief equity officer and civil rights policy adviser, and addressing state payroll inequities.<\/p>\n<h2>Polls Show Tight Race<\/h2>\n<p>Hobbs appears to have adopted a more low-key strategy rather than meet Lake head-on in a public debate. In early August, she met with constituents during a meeting with labor union leaders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood coffee. Bagels. Getting to sit down and speak with Arizona\u2019s union leaders about real challenges we\u2019re facing,\u201d Hobbs said in a post on Twitter on Aug. 9.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCouldn\u2019t think of a better way to start my morning than at the ADP Labor Breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The latest polls show Lake and Hobbs nearly deadlocked, with Lake, a former Fox10 news anchor, leading Hobbs 46 percent to 45 percent among voters.<\/p>\n<p>Both candidates are also running close in fund-raising: Hobbs has garnered $5 million compared to Lake at just under $4 million.<\/p>\n<p>The winner in the general election will succeed Arizona\u2019s two-term Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who cannot seek re-election due to the state\u2019s term limits.<\/p>\n<p>Neither Lake nor Hobbs responded to a request for comment through their respective campaigns.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-allan-stein\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Allan-Stein.jpeg\" alt=\"Allan Stein\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Allan Stein is an Epoch Times reporter who covers the state of Arizona.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TUCSON, Ariz.\u2014Democratic candidate for Arizona governor Katie Hobbs has refused to debate her Republican opponent Kari Lake ahead of the Nov. 8 mid-term election, with her campaign telling local media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1897479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1672544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1672544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1672544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1672544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1897479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1672544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1672544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1672544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}