PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs skipped all formal debates during her run for governor two years ago.
"As you know, I am not a fan of debates," Hobbs said in an interview on this weekend's "Sunday Square Off."
But the first-term Democratic governor did offer her reaction to President Joe Biden's weak performance Thursday night against Donald Trump.
"I know the pundits like to talk about them, and I'll leave that to you." Hobbs said. "As the president himself has said, don't compare him to the Almighty. Compare him to the alternative. And by that metric, the choice is abundantly clear in this race."
Hobbs is perhaps the only elected Democrat in Arizona who's offered an opinion of a shaky Biden debate performance that has prompted calls for him to step aside as the party's 2024 presidential nominee.
Hobbs wouldn't respond directly to questions about whether Biden should step aside or whether he could be a drag on Democratic candidates.
"I've been really clear, my priority this election is getting a governing majority that will work with me to deliver an agenda that I ran on for Arizona," she said. "That's what I'm going to be focused on."
In 2022, Hobbs declined to participate in televised debates with Democratic primary opponent Marco Lopez or her Republican general election opponent, Kari Lake. That ended a two-decade debate tradition in Arizona.
Lake, who branded Hobbs a "chicken," in 2022, was a no-show Wednesday for a scheduled debate with her U.S. Senate primary opponent, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.
Wide-ranging discussion
During a wide-ranging review of the legislative session that just ended and a look ahead to the general election, Hobbs also discussed:
- Whether the 2024 vote is a make-or-break election for her her governorship if Democrats don't win control of the Legislature in November.
- Why she hasn't been able to deliver on pledges to reform Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, the fast-growing program that funds private school tuition and expenses with state taxpayer dollars.
- How she'll respond to the looming $300 million financial cliff for K-12 schools if Prop 123 isn't extended by the end of next year.
- Why she says her fellow Democrats in the state Senate "mischaracterized" her office's approach to the new state budget.
Can Richer survive GOP primary?
Also on "Square Off," the politics panel of Stacy Pearson, co-founder of the Democratic consulting firm Lumen Strategies, and Tyler Montague, a longtime Republican activist, discuss:
- Whether Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer can survive his Republican primary after defying his party's election denial and revealing he plans to vote for Democrat Joe Biden. Pearson and Montague also share their primaries to watch.
- The other Arizona primaries to watch. Early ballots will be mailed to Arizona voters on Wednesday. The primary election date is July 30.
- What to make of a Republican Party leader's declaration that she would "lynch" Richer, and her desire to support Christian candidates. Richer is Jewish.
- Whether a temporary election worker who took home a security key from the Maricopa County Elections Department had political motives.
Broadcast time changes next week
"Sunday Square Off" viewers should take note of a schedule change for the broadcast on Sunday, July 7.
The program will air at 7 a.m. on 12News, after NBC's "Meet the Press" at 6 a.m.
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Sunday Square Off
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