Following controversy caused by Arizona PBS, the Arizona Clean Elections Commission (CEC) held its 2022 gubernatorial debate on Sunday. However, the only nominee in attendance was Republican Kari Lake, as her Democrat opponent, Katie Hobbs, declined to attend.
“Thank you to the Clean Elections folks. I know they had to kind of move things around as we tried to make a debate happen with myself and my opponent, but unfortunately, she was not courageous enough to show up for the debate,” Lake said to start the evening.
Because of the lack of an opponent, Lake received a 30-minute one-on-one Q&A with moderator Mike Broomhead of KTAR News 92.3 FM on AZTV7. She took the opportunity to speak on changes and improvements she wants to make as Arizona’s governor.
Election Integrity
The most extensive conversation of the night revolved around election integrity and what it would take for Lake to feel confident in Arizona’s system. For Arizona, Lake said she ultimately wants to see a scenario where votes are counted correctly and transparently, people can have confidence in their vote, and above all, zero mistakes are made. No matter what work is needed to make a system like this come to fruition, Lake said she is willing to put in the effort with the legislature to make it happen.
When asked if she believes the election in November will be honest and fair, Lake responded with an unfortunate no.
“I wish I could sit here and say yes, but I’m not,” Lake said.
Lake said her hesitancy comes from her opponent, Hobbs, Arizona’s current secretary of state, who oversees the election. Lake called the absent Hobbs incompetent, citing an incident in the August primary election where Pinal County did not print enough in-person ballots for the day under Hobbs’ watch.
However, Lake said any concerns with election integrity do not go out the window if she wins in November.
“You know, I’d be happy if they wanted to do a hand count of the election if I win and they say, ‘wait a minute, we want to do a hand count,’ I’m all for it. I want more transparency, folks,” Lake said.
Border Security
With the Super Bowl scheduled to take place in Arizona a month after the next governor takes office, Broomhead asked if Lake would waver in her aggressive border plans if the NFL threatened to withdraw from the state because of it. Lake responded she would not.
“The people of Arizona is who I work for,” Lake said. “I’m not going to be taking marching orders from the NFL. I’m taking orders from the people of Arizona who are tired of their children getting their hands on the deadliest drug this country’s ever seen [fentanyl].”
Moreover, Arizona is currently involved in a lawsuit regarding Gov. Doug Ducey’s decision to fill gaps in the border wall with shipping containers. Lake said she would continue this fight as governor.
Education
With falling grades for Arizona students, Lake said the solution to this issue is not to throw. more money at schools but letting the problems “sort themselves out” through the state’s new universal Empowerment Scholarship Account law.
Lake is also a proponent of the dual-track education system, which would give high school students real-world trade skills and vocational training. She pointed to Broomhead, who has training as an electrician, and said she wants to see everyone have trade skills like that, which they can use if necessary to get high-paying jobs.
Watch her entire conversation here.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
