Hobbs Refuses Debate With Andy Biggs In Arizona Governor’s Race

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs will not debate Republican nominee Andy Biggs before the November general election, marking the second consecutive gubernatorial campaign in which Hobbs has declined to share a debate stage with her opponent.

Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont confirmed the decision Thursday in a statement provided to 12News.

“Face-to-face engagement with Arizonans is more effective than a stage designed for short soundbites and political theater,” DeMont said.

The campaign said Hobbs has participated in more than 100 open-press events and interviews this year and plans to continue traveling through Arizona to meet with voters, business owners, farmers, health care providers and other residents. Her campaign has promoted the appearances as part of an “Arizona First Tour.” 

DeMont also criticized Biggs as a Washington insider who has declined previous debates and forums and, she said, refused to answer for his congressional record.

Speaking with KTAR host Mike Broomhead, Biggs criticized the move, saying, “The fact that she won’t debate indicates pretty clearly that she can’t defend her record.” He added, “If you can’t defend your record, you should probably be disqualified.”

“The fact that she won’t debate indicates pretty clearly that she can’t defend her record,” Republican gubernatorial candidate Andy Biggs said of Gov. Katie Hobbs. “If you can’t defend your record, you should probably be disqualified.”

Hobbs’ campaign announced Thursday she will… pic.twitter.com/z6gNZz5YQM

— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) July 31, 2026

Biggs’ newly announced running mate, former state Sen. Sine Kerr, agreed, saying, “The Voters deserve that. In my opinion, it’s a huge disrespect to them, as a candidate and a sitting governor, to have such disrespect for the voters that you won’t even go and do a debate and defend your record.”

Biggs senior adviser Drew Sexton said the Republican nominee will participate in a gubernatorial debate scheduled for Oct. 6 by the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

“Katie Hobbs can avoid the debate stage but she won’t get to avoid voters in November,” Sexton said.

Sexton argued that independent and persuadable voters should be able to compare the two major-party candidates in a traditional debate. He said Arizona held a gubernatorial debate during every election cycle beginning in 1954 until Hobbs declined to debate Republican Kari Lake in 2022, according to KTAR. The historical claim came from the Biggs campaign and has not been independently confirmed through a comprehensive debate archive. 

“Every other statewide Democrat in 2022 and 2024 decided to debate in the general election, but Katie Hobbs thinks the rules don’t apply to her,” Sexton said in a statement reported by 12News.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Arizona’s official nonpartisan debate sponsor, announced plans in March to produce statewide and federal debates in partnership with the Arizona Media Association. The commission said its format allows voters to compare candidates side by side and gives moderators an opportunity to pursue spontaneous answers and follow-up questions.

Candidates who received at least 1 percent of the ballots cast in the primary for their office are eligible to receive invitations to the general-election broadcast. The debates are scheduled to be distributed through television, radio and digital outlets, with Spanish translation, American Sign Language interpretation and live captioning. 

Biggs won the July 21 Republican primary after defeating Rep. David Schweikert and two businessmen, Scott Neely and Ken Miceli. Hobbs ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. The two will compete in the Nov. 3 general election. 

Two minor-party candidates also won gubernatorial primaries: Teri Ann Hourihan of the No Labels Party and Risa Lombardo of the Green Party. Clean Elections Executive Director Tom Collins told Capitol Media Services that the commission had not yet determined whether the two would be invited to the October event, as reported by KAWC.

Hobbs last participated in a televised candidate debate in October 2018, when she faced Republican Steve Gaynor during her successful campaign for secretary of state. Arizona PBS hosted the debate as part of that year’s Clean Elections series. 

She declined to debate former Nogales Mayor Marco Lopez during the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary and later refused to debate Lake in the general election. Hobbs’ campaign sought to replace the proposed Lake debate with separate town-hall appearances, but the Citizens Clean Elections Commission rejected the request, as reported by Axios at the time. Lake appeared alone during the scheduled program. 

Hobbs went on to defeat Lake by 17,117 votes, or approximately 0.67 percentage points, becoming Arizona’s first Democratic governor since Janet Napolitano left office in 2009.

Biggs has also declined some candidate events during previous election cycles. He participated in a Republican gubernatorial debate in June with Schweikert, Neely and Miceli, while declining an invitation to an Arizona PBS candidate discussion held the following evening. Capitol Media Services reported that Biggs also did not participate in congressional debates while seeking reelection in 2022 and 2024.

Sexton said statewide debates differ from congressional debates because they provide candidates with access to voters across Arizona. Biggs represents Arizona’s heavily Republican Fifth Congressional District and is not seeking reelection to Congress.

Earlier this year, Hobbs suggested that Biggs should commit to accepting the result of the 2026 election before she considered debating him. Biggs told Capitol Media Services in April that he would accept the result. Hobbs’ campaign offered no commitment to a debate after his response.

The governor’s campaign formally closed the question Thursday, leaving Biggs committed to the Oct. 6 Clean Elections event without the Democratic incumbent.