Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs defends her refusal to debate Trump-backed GOP rival Kari Lake, who she says is 'only interested in creating a spectacle'

The former Arizona secretary of state defended her decision not to debate her opponent.

The move has been criticized by Democrats who believe that Hobbs should have debated Lake.

On CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, host Dana Bash quoted an opinion piece by The Arizona Republic's Laurie Roberts, who wrote that "Hobbs' refusal to debate her opponent on Wednesday represents a new level of political malpractice."

You won't debate her. Bash asked if he could speak to him.

"Kari Lake has made it clear time and time again that she doesn't want substantive, in-depth conversations about the issues that matter to Arizonans." She only wants a scenario where she can control the dialogue, and she's refused to sit down in a one-on-one conversation to clarify where she is on the issues. She's the one who doesn't want to talk to voters.

—CNN (@CNN) October 16, 2022

The local elections commission denied her request to change the debate to separate interviews for the two candidates.

After a back-and-forth between the candidates, the elections commission, and the venue, Hobbs will get an interview on PBS that wasn't originally planned while Lake won't get an interview.

"Arizonans who are struggling, when they go to open their ballot, they're not sure how they're going to put food on the table, they're rationing their diabetes, or they're thinking about that."

Lake sat for an interview with CNN on Sunday.

A lot of Democrats are questioning your decision, and they think it's the wrong one. Is it your responsibility as a candidate to show and explain who their alternative is if you think she's dangerous?

"That's what I'm doing right now," he said. It is possible to have a conversation with her without interruption. She sat down with you. She doesn't want to take her case to the voters in Arizona. She wants to create a spectacle.

Lake has centered her entire campaign around the false claims of voter fraud.

This isn't right. She has nothing else to run on and this is a core of our democracy.

In a statement to Insider, a representative for the Lake campaign said that they had been lied to.

"As expected, she lied about her record in the CNN interview." Even though she was interviewed by CNN moments before, and even though she held one of the biggest press conferences Arizona has seen, she lied that she never talks with reporters in Arizona. There is only one person who is afraid to talk about the issues in this campaign, and that is the only person who runs away from the reporters.