During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Arizona Republican Kari Lake didn’t commit to accepting the upcoming election’s results.
The race for Arizona’s governorship is one of the highly anticipated elections this year, with Lake going head to head with Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s secretary of state and the Democratic candidate.
When interviewer Dana Bash asked the Trump-backed candidate whether she would accept the election result in case she lost, Lake dodged the question a few times and her response remained the same: “I’m going to win the election, and I will accept that result.”
The former Fox 10 Phoenix news anchor leveraged election denial and made it the forefront of her campaign by calling the 2020 presidential election “stolen,” as I previously reported.
Meanwhile, her opponent Hobbs earned goodwill after administering the 2020 election and certifying the results — marking the first time that Arizona had flipped blue since 1996.
Polls by FiveThirtyEight indicate that Lake is leading by 0.9%. A Phoenix-based OH Predictive Insights poll also found that Lake is at an advantage.
Katie Hobbs defends her decision to not debate
CNN’s “State of Union” programming also featured an interview with Hobbs shortly after Lake’s. Bash asked the Democratic nominee why she has refused to debate.
“Look, Kari Lake has made it clear time and time again that she’s not interested in having substantive, in-depth conversations about the issues that matter to Arizonans,” said Hobbs. “She only wants a scenario where she can control the dialogue, and she’s refused to sit down in a one-on-one, lengthy conversation to really clarify with Arizonans where she is on the issues. She’s the one who’s afraid of talking to voters where she’s at.”
Hobbs said she guaranteed that when it comes to the ballot, Arizona voters are going to consider issues like abortion, inflation and the cost of medicines like insulin, and not whether or not she participated in the debate.
Bash followed up by asking why Hobbs wasn’t interested in showing Arizona voters the alternative option in the election.
“That is exactly what I’m doing right now,” she replied. “There is a lot more ability to have a conversation with you without her interruptions and shouting to do that. And, yes, she did sit down with you. She’s refused to do that with any legitimate reporter in the state of Arizona and take her case directly to the voters. She’s only interested in creating a spectacle.”