PHOENIX — The Clean Elections Commission has postponed a scheduled Q&A with Kari Lake that would have aired Wednesday night on PBS. The move comes hours after Katie Hobbs' campaign announced it had agreed to a 30-minute interview with Arizona PBS.
Lake's campaign heavily criticized Arizona PBS for agreeing to air the Hobbs interview, because Hobbs declined to participate in a debate with Lake, which would have also aired on PBS.
Lake and Hobbs are running against each other in Arizona's November election for governor.
The one-hour Q&A that was scheduled for Wednesday between Lake and a moderator was intended to replace the debate that Hobbs declined to participate in on PBS in September.
Hobbs previously turned down the debate opportunity against Lake, in part saying that it was out of fear of the debate being disjointed and light on policy. Hobbs told ABC15 in a separate interview, which will air next week, debating someone who is an election denier isn’t beneficial to the voter but sitting down with a reporter is a better way to reach voters.
Kari Lake released a statement Wednesday morning in response to the PBS decision to conduct an interview with Hobbs, which stated in part:
"As the CEC's broadcast partner, PBS' actions are a slap in the face to the commissioners of the CEC and a betrayal of their efforts to put on an actual debate. Remember, the CEC specifically voted against Katie Hobbs' demand for her own one-on-one interview, but PBS went behind the CEC's backs and agreed to give her one anyway. That's because PBS, a supposedly-objective taxpayer-funded entity, is working overtime to help elect Katie Hobbs, who needs all the help she can get. PBS has now become complicit in Katie Hobbs' attempt to destroy twenty years of gubernatorial debate tradition. We are actively working with the Clean Elections Commission and we continue to push for an opportunity for a real debate with both candidates on stage."
The CEC announced later on Wednesday that it has postponed its scheduled interview with Lake, in order to find a new venue and partner for a future interview.
— AZ Clean Elections (@AZCCEC) October 12, 2022
On Wednesday afternoon, Arizona PBS confirmed that they reached out to both candidates for a 30-minute interview. See their full statement below:
"Arizona PBS has offered both Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs a 30 minute interview as candidates for governor, as part of our Horizon news program. It is our responsibility as a news agency to provide the public with access to the candidates who are running for office so they can learn more and make informed decisions."
It is not yet clear if the newly announced Katie Hobbs interview on Arizona PBS, which is scheduled to air October 18, will air as planned or be postponed.
Lake has not responded to the CEC's announcement but did share its statement on social media.
Kari Lake held a press conference Wednesday afternoon at ASU outside the PBS studio, she told media and supporters she is still willing to debate Katie Hobbs in the future.
Following the announcement of Hobbs' interview with Arizona PBS, State Representative John Kavanagh announced legislation that would "sever all state ties and support of the Arizona Public Broadcasting System (AZPBS) in Phoenix, if the station's management fails to correct its troubling eleventh-hour decision to circumvent the agreed rules of the Arizona Clean Elections Commission debate," according to a release.
A statement from Representative Kavanagh was included in the announcement:
“The public interest is best served when candidates debate before the voters. The Arizona Clean Elections Commission wisely penalizes those candidates who refused to debate by giving their opponent a televised question and answer session and giving no time to the candidate who declines to debate. AZPBS has partnered with the Clean Election Commission for this year’s debates and is now undermining the debate process by circumventing the commission’s rules.
It would be inappropriate for the state to continue its relationship with AZPBS, given its sabotaging of the clean election debates that were approved by the voters. The clean election rules are clear. If a candidate refuses to debate, their opponent (who is willing to debate) is eligible to have a 30-minute question and answer session.
The terrible decision by the heads of AZPBS, if uncorrected, will encourage future clean elections candidates to avoid engaging in a debate and deprive voters of information they need to make their voting decisions. Moreover, I believe the station’s decision to reward a candidate’s refusal to debate, by giving them free television time, is tantamount to making a partisan political contribution to their campaign. AZPBS needs to keep its thumb off the election scale and not shortchange the voters.”
This is a developing story. Stay with ABC15 and abc15.com for the latest on this situation.