Kari Lake unlikely to debate Mark Lamb ahead of Arizona's GOP Senate primary. What to know

There are two prominent Republicans running for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, and a third, lesser-known candidate as well, but it seems unlikely GOP primary voters will hear all of them debate before casting their ballots.

Kari Lake, the primary front-runner who has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and most of the Republican senators she hopes to join, for months has silently sidestepped the matter.

Instead, Lake has challenged U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, the only Democrat on the ballot for his party, to debate her on abortion rights, an offer his campaign immediately rejected. During her 2022 gubernatorial run, Lake called Gov. Katie Hobbs a “coward” for refusing to debate her.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has called for a Republican debate. So, too, has the nonpartisan Clean Elections Commission that has scheduled debates in other races this year and has one for the Republican Senate candidates tentatively slated for June 26.

Lake’s team hasn’t responded to those requests.

Lake’s campaign declined to comment about the debate issue.

Lake has suggested she would participate in a debate overseen by the Arizona Republican Party, but Lamb’s campaign said that isn’t happening.

“We’re told by Arizona Republican Party officials that there will be no debate,” said Ed Morabito, a senior adviser to the Lamb campaign. “They’ve made it clear they are not going to sponsor a debate. … The bottom line is we’ve accepted every debate opportunity and Kari Lake has turned us down at every chance.”

A spokesperson for the state GOP didn’t respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Lake has given Lamb the silent treatment since she entered the Senate race in October, avoiding any mention of him in public. By contrast, she regularly name-checked Gallego and U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., whose job she is seeking.

Elizabeth Reye, a neuroscientist and self-described Reagan Republican running for the GOP Senate nomination, also qualified for the ballot.

"All I can say is, debate me b------," Reye said in a message to Lake and Lamb that is posted on her campaign website.

Voting begins for the state’s primary contests in late June and ends on July 30.

On Monday, Lamb’s campaign seized on fresh polling showing Lake slipping behind Gallego in a head-to-head matchup.

A poll taken last week by CBS News and YouGov found Gallego leading Lake by 13 percentage points, well outside the poll’s 3.6 percentage point margin of error.

A week earlier, the New York Times and Siena College showed Gallego leading Lake by 3 and 4 percentage points among likely and registered voters respectively.

Arizona Senate race: Ruben Gallego looks to raise money from John McCain, Kyrsten Sinema campaign donors

Among the polls tracked by the politics website FiveThirtyEight, Gallego has led in all eight taken since mid-March, shortly after Sinema said she would not seek a second term.

“This should be a loud wake up call for Republicans who are tired of losing elections,” Lamb’s team said Monday in a statement on the polling. President “Joe Biden’s open border and sky-high inflation are destroying our nation. Americans are struggling to make ends meet. Republicans now face the likelihood that Democrat Ruben Gallego would win the U.S. Senate race by double digits if Kari Lake were the Republican nominee. … A Trump-Lamb ticket puts Republicans in the strongest position to win in November.”

There is no recent public polling showing Lamb in position to win.

Both Lake and Lamb have struggled to keep pace with Gallego’s fundraising, a disparity that has grown more evident in recent weeks since Gallego began blitzing TV and digital screens with advertising. Lake recently responded with a burst of ads with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has also endorsed her.

Entering April, Gallego had $9.6 million in cash. At the same time, Lake had $2.5 million in cash and $451,000 in debt. Lamb had $254,000 in cash and $117,000 in debts.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake unlikely to debate Mark Lamb ahead of Arizona Senate primary