{"id":3235,"date":"2026-07-08T13:04:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3235"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:04:58","slug":"gov-hobbs-criticizes-biggs-for-avoiding-debates-while-refusing-to-commit-to-one-herself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3235","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Hobbs criticizes Biggs for avoiding debates while refusing to commit to one herself"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs\u2019 campaign is attacking her most likely Republican opponent for dodging debates, even though she hasn\u2019t faced an opponent on stage in nearly a decade.<\/p>\n

Read more Former Phoenix music teacher enters plea for production of child sexual abuse material<\/a><\/p>\n

The latest dust-up began late last week when Gov. Hobbs\u2019 political operation criticized U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs for skipping a Republican-organized primary debate.<\/p>\n

The statement came from Copper State Victory, the group running coordinated campaigns for Arizona\u2019s top Democrats.<\/p>\n

The criticism immediately raised questions about whether Hobbs\u2019 side is vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy, given the governor\u2019s own record.<\/p>\n

Hobbs has spent decades in public office, but examples of her debating are hard to find in recent years.<\/p>\n

The last time Arizona voters saw her participate in a televised debate was in October 2018, when she was running for secretary of state.<\/p>\n

Four years later, Hobbs ran for governor in a race that drew national attention. But she refused to debate her Republican challenger, Kari Lake, despite mounting pressure.<\/p>\n

Asked whether her campaign\u2019s criticism of Biggs conflicts with her own debate history, Hobbs pushed back. She argued she is already giving voters all the information they need to make their decisions.<\/p>\n

Read more Extreme Heat Warning\u2026and continuing tomorrow as well<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI am here answering hard questions, and I think that\u2019s giving information to Arizonans that they need to hear about what I\u2019m doing as governor,\u201d Hobbs said.<\/p>\n

Taking questions from reporters, however, is different from debating an opponent.<\/p>\n

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Whether debates matter remains a recurring argument every election cycle.<\/p>\n

Historically, only a small share of voters watch full debates. But longtime political strategist Chuck Coughlin said they still play an outsized role in defining candidates and their campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the large sense they do matter because … they should give the public an opportunity to see clear distinctions between the candidates,\u201d Coughlin said.<\/p>\n

The biggest unanswered question now is whether Hobbs will debate in the general election this fall. For now, she is not committing either way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will answer questions about the debate after the primary, yes,\u201d Hobbs said.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <\/i>it to us here<\/i> with a brief description.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Important deadlines for Arizona\u2019s 2026 primary election<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The biggest unanswered question now is whether Gov. Katie Hobbs will debate in the general election this fall. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nGov. Hobbs criticizes Biggs for avoiding debates while refusing to commit to one herself - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3235\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gov. 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