Kari Lake won't debate Mark Lamb? Katie Hobbs must be laughing her head off

Note: This column has been updated to include Kari Lake's remarks on debating Lamb.

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Remember when Kari Lake was hot to debate her opponent?

“Katie, I will debate you on a stage,” Lake said during her 2022 gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Katie Hobbs. “I will debate you in a parking lot. I will debate you in a library. I will debate you in a bar. I will debate you in a car. I will debate you on CNN or MSNBC. I will debate you on The View & let Joy Behar & Whoopie ask questions.”

Remember when Lake (rightly) said that real leaders go head-to-head with their competition?

"Facing criticism and taking responsibility for your record in front of the voters is one of the most basic qualifications of leadership. Hobbs is failing at it spectacularly.”Or that time she said debates are essential to democracy and that politicians who avoid them are cowards?

“Debates between candidates are a critical part of ‘our democracy.’ @katiehobbs cowardice threatens to put an end to this proud political tradition. Arizona will not accept a Debate Denier for Governor.”

Now Lake's the one who's turned debate shy

Well, it’s now been a week since Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb issued a call for a series of debates with Lake, his Senate primary opponent.

And debating him, it seems, is a no-go in Lakeland.

"I would do any debate that the AZ GOP puts on, absolutely," she told Scott Gross of Yuma's News 11 over the weekend. "Any AZ GOP-sanctioned debate that's televised I'll do."

It's an easy out, given that the Republican Party hierarchy isn't about to do its job and hold debates in a contested primary.

Lamb is the other Republican running for the U.S. Senate, a staunch conservative from the party’s MAGA wing.

He’s basically Kari Lake but without the baggage, having not spent the last several years lambasting more moderate Republicans as RINOs and doormats and gold diggers and such.

While Lake was laser focused on stolen elections and that celebrated stake she drove through the hearts of McCain Republicans, Lamb was a law-and-order sheriff laser focused on that hunk of Swiss cheese we call a border.

The only thing Lamb lacks in GOP circles is Trump’s endorsement … and much of anyone paying attention to the fact that he’s running for the Senate.

Thus came last week’s call by Lamb for debates.

Is it because Mark Lamb poses a true threat?

Lamb contends that while Lake may be the runaway favorite in a Republican primary, he has a better shot at beating Democrat Ruben Gallego in November.

“Most polls show me as the strongest Republican candidate in the general election with my opponent losing to Gallego by 10 points or more,” he said in his call for debates, citing a October Noble Predictive Insights poll that showed him leading Gallego in a two-person race while Lake was behind.

“My experience and ability to pick up support from conservative Independents and Democrats in the general election separate me from the Republican field.“With that in mind, I am calling for a series of debates with Kari Lake. Voters deserve to hear and see their candidates front and center on the issues.”

Once upon a time, Kari Lake would have agreed with that — and she would have been right.

She sure was fiery in going after Hobbs

Lake roasted Hobbs for refusing to meet her on the debate stage during the governor’s race, saying her refusal to go one-on-one showed contempt to the voters.

“'Democrats are going to vote for her anyway’ is not a good enough excuse to skip the debate,” she said at the time. “So much contempt.”Now two years later, Lake says Republicans are going to vote for her anyway, so no debate is necessary.

"Frankly, I'm not running against Mark Lamb, I'm running against Ruben Gallego," she told the Yuma news anchor. "I know what the polls say. There's a reason that the NRSC has endorsed me. They know what the polling says as well. They know that this not even going to be a race in the primary, it's going to be a blowout."

How is that not contempt as well? Or conceit?

Or, perhaps, it's just plain old fear about giving a platform to a candidate who would be a viable alternative.

So, Kari Lake, why the change of heart on debate?

The Republicans’ No. 1 goal isn’t — or shouldn’t be — to nominate Kari Lake. It should be to nominate the Republican with the best chance of winning back the Senate seat they lost in 2018.

Two short years ago, Lake believed that voters had a right to see their choices side-by-side. Day in and day out, she taunted Katie Hobbs over her refusal to debate. Her campaign even posted a picture of a chicken."Arizona, Hobbs thinks so little of you that she isn't even going to campaign and try and earn your vote, but I sure will," Lake said.

“Why is it that Katie Hobbs won’t debate? What is she trying to keep from you? What is she hiding?," she tweeted.

“@Katiehobbs is too afraid to debate me … I think it shows great disrespect to not only the office of Governor but to the people of Arizona."

"Facing criticism," Lake said, "and taking responsibility for your record in front of the voters is one of the most basic qualifications of leadership."

Two years later, what's changed?

Reach Roberts at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerlyTwitter, at @LaurieRoberts or on Threads at laurierobertsaz.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Senate election: Why is Kari Lake avoiding Mark Lamb’s debate?