Hobbs says no to Clean Elections debates as planners keep the stage open

Gov. Katie Hobbs has ruled out participating in this fall’s gubernatorial debates even as Arizona’s official debate organizers are still finalizing whom to invite, the Arizona Globe reported Wednesday. Thomas Collins, executive director of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, told the Globe that plans with the Arizona Media Association remain unsettled.

The consequence is immediate: the voter-created commission is planning a marquee event around the likely absence of the incumbent governor. Hobbs has not rejected a finalized Clean Elections invitation, according to the report. Instead, she issued a blanket refusal before organizers determined the final invite list.

Republican challenger Rep. Andy Biggs says he will participate in a Clean Elections event expected Oct. 6, though organizers have not settled the invitation list or the final format, the Globe reported. Biggs adviser Drew Sexton said “independent and persuadable voters up for grabs in Arizona deserve to hear from statewide candidates in a traditional debate setting.”

Collins confirmed the odd dynamic facing planners. “The commission and the Arizona Media Association are still finalizing their plans on gubernatorial invitations,” he said, adding that he is “not pretending like Gov. Hobbs would come,” but that she “has to be considered an invitee even if she’s going to decline,” according to the Globe.

Hobbs’s campaign argues she is engaging voters directly on her Arizona First Tour. Campaign manager Nicole DeMont said the governor has made more than 100 open-press appearances and given interviews this year, and that “face-to-face engagement with Arizonans is more effective than a stage designed for short soundbites and political theater,” per the Globe. Her team also notes that Biggs has skipped previous debates and forums.

Biggs’s camp counters that a statewide debate is a different test. Sexton told the Globe there is a difference between congressional and statewide debates in terms of reach and connection with voters. The contrast sets up a clean line of attack if Hobbs does not appear while Biggs does.

Hobbs used the same no-debate posture in 2022 against Kari Lake and still won. The Globe notes, however, that Lake’s combative style helped Hobbs frame a debate as spectacle. This cycle, Biggs arrives as a sitting congressman and former Arizona Senate president, a credential set that gives Republicans a stronger argument that the governor is avoiding an experienced officeholder.

Republican consultant Jaime Molera was blunt in the Globe’s account: “There’s a big difference when you’re talking about a sitting congressman. He’s a credible candidate. To not have a debate, to me, it’s crazy.” Molera predicted that Hobbs’s refusal could yield weeks of earned media for Biggs rather than one uncomfortable night, calling it “a gift that keeps on giving.”

The institutional picture is straightforward. Clean Elections, created by voters to sponsor Arizona’s official candidate debates, is proceeding with an event while the incumbent signals a boycott. Invitations and format are still in flux, per Collins. The result today is a planning exercise built around an empty lectern and a running campaign argument about accountability.

What to watch next is whether the commission’s final format pressures participation, whether Biggs appears solo under the Clean Elections banner, and whether Hobbs adjusts. For now, the governor is trading one night of scrutiny for a month of questions, and gifting her opponent a stage he appears eager to fill, according to the Globe’s reporting.

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