Arizona’s candidates for governor appeared on the CBS morning news show ‘Face the Nation’ Sunday, just hours ahead of Trump’s visit to the state.
The former president wasn’t the focus of the discussion; instead, Democratic nominee Katie Hobbs and Republican nominee Kari Lake discussed their plans for border security, abortion and other issues, including Hobbs’ refusal to debate Lake.
The interviews, conducted separately and aired back to back, might be the closest equivalent to a debate a national audience will see this cycle. They highlighted the stylistic and political differences of two women locked in a nationally watched race that most polls say is tied.
Lake has shifted from praising to a near-total ban on abortion to saying she will follow the law. She did so again Sunday. Arizona has two conflicting laws on the books, but a court ruling Friday has allowed a ban on abortions after 15 weeks except for in medical emergencies to prevail.
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Lake told CBS news correspondent Major Garrett the “law right now as it stands is Gov. Ducey’s law at 15 weeks, so we’ll follow the law,” according to a transcript of the interview.
Garrett likewise tried to pin down Hobbs’ position on abortion, which Lake has painted as extreme because Hobbs has repeatedly declined to say if there is a stage of pregnancy after which she thinks abortion should be prohibited. Pressed on that, Garrett Hobbs if an Arizona voter would be right to conclude that she asked “not favor any specific week limit on abortion.”
“I support leaving the decision between a woman and her doctor and leaving politicians entirely out of it,” Hobbs replied.
Lake spent much of her interview talking about her plan to use state law enforcement as border patrol and deportation officers, an authority she’d seek using an untested legal theory that would buck decades of court precedent and likely lead to a lawsuit.
“I hope that Joe Biden doesn’t fight us because then it would really look like he is on the side of the cartel,” she said.
Lake didn’t mention Trump in her interview, perhaps a reflection of his unpopularity with voters nationally. Hobbs brought up the former president twice, attacking his record of him at the southern border and his false claims the 2020 election was “stolen,” which Lake has parroted.
Hobbs said Trump’s effort to build the border wall, the signature of his border policy, wasn’t finished and called on the Biden administration to “step up.”
Asked why she wouldn’t debate Lake, and if her decision not to participate shortchanged voters of a chance to see how Hobbs would respond in a moment of duration, Hobbs shifted to Trump.
“I think the voters of Arizona have had a chance to see how I work under crisis throughout my leadership during the 2020 election as secretary of state,” Hobbs said, “when we had to combat multiple election challenges from former President Trump and his band of election deniers, including my opponent Kari Lake.”
Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669. Follow her on Twitter @sbarchenger
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism