Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, has a lot to offer when it comes to communication with voters. This is one of the reasons Kari Lake is so attractive as a candidate. She hasn’t won yet, but people talk about her talent for national office in the near future.
Katie Hobbs, her Democratic opponent, is unfortunately the opposite. She seems a little immature for a 12-year-old girl. Her voice does her no favors. Her petulant attitude, “How dare they ask me these questions!” doesn’t help when she presses with questions. Lake is confident, but Hobbs sounds like she would rather be answering questions than anywhere else.
Hobbs’ campaign was hampered by her refusal to allow debates. John Fetterman participated in a debate despite all his issues. He did so to get more early votes before everyone saw the issues. He likely lost the election because of this terrible decision. Hobbs isn’t having his issues; she seems scared — not a good appearance for someone who wants to trust you to run a state.
Hobbs was put on the spot by CNN’s Don Lemon, his morning show panel, and when they gave her one. They then asked why she wasn’t debating. She said she didn’t want Lake’s “election denialism” to be elevated. But that’s when CNN began journalism and asked her why she hadn’t debated her Democratic primary opponent.
CNN: “Why not debate your opponent?”
Democrat Katie Hobbs: “Our campaign strategy is our campaign strategy.”
CNN: “Why do you think it wasn’t important for people to see a debate in this election for governor at all?”
Hobbs: “This is the decision we made, so.” pic.twitter.com/sunaYRese3
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 2, 2022
Hobbs can only say that this was our campaign decision. She never answers the question. She claims Lake won’t answer questions if Lake has spoken with many media types. Hobbs was left stuttering when they dropped the question about the primary opposition.
People want to be able to present their views to the voters. If they aren’t willing to do so, it’s obvious that there is a problem. She also doesn’t care about the voters if they don’t believe they have the right to hear their positions in a debate. Why would voters believe that she would listen if they didn’t want to speak out?
CNN panelists asked her if they had ever debated her opponents. She answered yes. In a quick search, I could not find any evidence. I will be pinging the Kari Lake people and saying that it’s most likely not true. If that’s false, then that would kill her.
CNN and Don Lemon have now had two great interviews. Lemon also questioned Fetterman in an interview this week. The clip was promoted by a CNN producer who tweeted it out with Katie Hobbs. It’s encouraging that they are now willing to ask questions and put Democratic candidates on the line.