PHOENIX – Like former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris they argue over the terms of future presidential debatesa similar controversy is raging in the Arizona Senate race.
State GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake is challenging longtime Democratic challenger Rep. Ruben Gallego to get on the debate stage. Now, while Gallego says it’s a game, Lake insists the debate deviates from its traditional format.
“I’m ready to fight Ruben Gallego right here, right now,” Lake said in a defiant March 15 press conference in Phoenix.
“I’ll discuss it at that table now,” he added, gesturing into the distance, eliciting laughter from the crowd. “I’ll argue with him any time.”
More than four months have passed since the Gallego-Lake election matchup, both once made official candidates won their primariesGallego He confirmed to NBC News that he is ready to discuss – but Lake appeared to be more selective about who should host.
On Tuesday, hours before he secured the GOP nomination, NBC News asked Lake if he would participate in a debate against Gallego hosted by the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
“I think we need to talk about what debates we’re having,” Lake said after voting in the GOP primary at a polling place in Lake Paradise Valley.
“I think our two teams can negotiate a fair place, a fair platform to do this,” he said after questioning the Arizona Clean Elections Commission.
2022 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs, then secretary of state, declined to participate in the Arizona Clean Elections debate against Republican gubernatorial candidate Lake. When Hobbs declined, the commission invited Lake 30 minutes of Q&A. Hobbs proposed that he and Lake each purchase separate town halls organized by Arizona Clean Elections, but the commission rejected the offersaid that it will deviate from the traditional debate format.
Hobbs still disagreed with the Arizona Clean Elections proposal for a traditional debate, saying Lake would create a “spectacle”. His decision allowed Lake to hold a 30-minute town hall held by the commission on Oct. 23, 2022, in Hobbs’ absence. Hobbs later participated in a separate Q&A with Arizona PBS that had nothing to do with Arizona Clean Elections.
The commission said it was “surprised” by Arizona PBS’ decision to invite Hobbs to the town hall.
“This decision is disappointing, especially after the efforts of all partners involved in preparing this year’s General Election debates to organize a traditional Gubernatorial debate between the two candidates,” Arizona Clean Elections said before the dueling town halls. the announcement “came out of our shared experience”.
Two years later, despite not attending Hobbs’ Q&A in 2022, Lake still harbors disdain for the commission. Lake described his complaint as “the way they treated people during the last election cycle, ’22. Debate, that is, Hobbs got his half-hour.
“You know, I don’t want to work with people who operate like that,” he said.
Given that Hobbs’ Q&A is not affiliated with Clean Elections Arizona, the organization’s executive director says Lake’s frustration is misplaced.
“The Lake campaign is factually incorrect about 2022,” executive director Thomas Collins told NBC News.
“Clean Elections did not sponsor any debate or interview with then-Secretary Hobbs (now Governor Hobbs) in 2022,” Collins said, noting that the commission has suspended its relationship with Arizona PBS through the 2022 election cycle. Invite Hobbs for a Q&A.
Collins hopes the commission can still sponsor a pitch between Gallego and Lake, writing, “We look forward to hosting a US Senate debate between Ms. Lake and Mr. Gallego with our partners.”
When asked about Lake’s hesitation to participate in the Clean Elections debate, Gallego pointed to his history in Arizona.
“Traditionally, for the last, I think three Senate races, every Senate debate has taken place in the Clean Elections debate,” Gallego said last week. “So I don’t understand why Kari Lake is afraid of equal-ground arguments.”
He accused Lake of “fleeing tradition” and blasted him for refusing to accept his loss in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
“Traditionally, you also accept elections after losing them. You don’t wait until two years later and file a petition to annul the election. But I guess now he is comfortable and wants to get rid of another tradition,” said Gallego.
Gallego also told NBC News that he did not take into account Hobbs’ reservations about Lake turning the debate into a “spectacle.”
“The point is, we have to talk to the voters of Arizona, and I trust the voters of Arizona that they will listen to both sides,” he said.
Arizona Clean Elections debates usually take place in October, about a month before Election Day. Lake’s fiery style and tendency to go head-to-head with heated attacks, combined with Gallego’s penchant for political obfuscation, would make the debate a highly anticipated affair.
But before they can produce results, the Lake and Gallego campaigns must go through the same exercise that the Trump and Harris campaigns struggled with: agreeing to terms.