By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — With early voting set to begin in just over a month, the Arizona governor’s race has taken a sharp and bitter turn, leaving voters with an exceptionally negative debate instead of focus on the state’s most pressing issues.
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Both major candidates released dueling attack ads on Tuesday, with each accusing the other of protecting pedophiles. The escalations have drawn sharp criticism for pulling attention away from critical concerns on voters’ minds, including Arizona’s dwindling water supply and the skyrocketing cost of living.
Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, launched a 30-second spot targeting her Republican challenger, Rep. Andy Biggs. The ad focuses on legislative actions from 2013, when Biggs served as the leader of the State Senate.
Hobbs’ campaign trained her attack on Biggs’ use of his legislative power to block a bill aimed at cracking down on child abuse within a polygamist religious sect in Colorado City, where teenage girls were allegedly forced into marriages with older men.
Biggs defended his past vote, saying he killed the 2013 proposal because it was poorly drafted. However, the decision drew critics at the time, including two of his fellow Republican lawmakers who accused him of allowing the abuse to continue.
At the same time, Biggs released a commercial accusing Hobbs of being the real protector of predators. The ad attacks the Democratic governor for vetoing several pieces of legislation aimed at implementing tougher penalties on sex offenders.
In her veto letters, Hobbs defended her decisions by stating that existing laws are already sufficient to handle those offenses. She also noted that one of the proposed bills was written so broadly that it could have been used to ban popular, controversial television shows like South Park.
Political analysts and consultants have expressed dismay over the tone of the campaigns. Wes Gullett, a veteran Republican political consultant, said he cannot remember a moment quite as ugly in his long career in Arizona politics.
“It’s lowering to the least common denominator, you’re getting down to the bottom,” Gullett said. “Each one calling each other the worst thing you could possibly do, to protect pedophiles.”
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Gullett warned that the highly negative nature of the race distracts from the economic concerns everyday Arizonans are facing.
“They’re trying to drive the discussion into the dirt, and it’s not good for politics, it’s not good for the election, and it’s really bad for turnout,” Gullett said.
While both candidates are trading heavy blows, a significant disparity in campaign funding means their messages may not reach voters equally.
Hobbs’ campaign holds a substantial financial advantage over Biggs. While the governor’s campaign declined to release the exact spending figure for the new ad, they confirmed it is backed by a “multi-million dollar” buy, ensuring it will see heavy rotation on television screens across the state.
By contrast, the Biggs campaign was less specific, stating only that their new commercial is part of a weekly advertising budget of up to $250,000.
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