By Corinne Murdock |

When confronted by reporters and supporters in person on Wednesday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs wouldn’t elaborate on her refusal to debate her Republican opponent, Kari Lake.

Hobbs abandoned an interview when a Yellow Sheet Report reporter asked her why she won’t debate Lake, as well as dismissed a similar question from a female supporter. 

Hobbs refused to provide the reporter with proof that she proposed a debate format to the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission (AZCCEC). After the reporter challenged Hobbs’ assertion that she had offered debate format changes, Hobbs stated that their conversation wasn’t productive and left the interview after less than three minutes.

When one of Hobbs’ female supporters asked her why she wouldn’t debate Lake, Hobbs told the woman that they would talk about it later.

Hobbs never proposed changes to the debate format. Rather, Hobbs proposed something else entirely: two back-to-back town halls, effectively two interviews. The AZCCEC rejected Hobbs’ proposal earlier this month. 

Hobbs effectively told Fox News that Lake wasn’t debatable. Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, said during the AZCCEC meeting earlier this month that Lake wasn’t capable of a substantive debate because she was a conspiracy theorist.

The interactions occurred during Hobbs’ campaign event on Wednesday at Arizona State University (ASU) for National Voter Registration Day. 

Last week, Lake requested the AZCCEC to extend an “open invitation” for Hobbs to debate her. At this point, Lake will have a Q&A session set up by AZCCEC on the scheduled debate day, October 12. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.