Hobbs won't commit to debate Biggs ahead of Arizona's 2026 governor election

Gov. Katie Hobbs made it clear she's willing to take on gubernatorial candidate Andy Biggs on how to eat a taco.

But the Democratic incumbent won't commit to actually debating her potential Republican foe on the issues.

It all started with a phone interview Biggs did with the Conservative Circus, a local radio show.

Biggs, a member of Congress, said the conversation was about political events. But then came a different question: Would he eat a taco from a food truck on camera?

“No, I don't think so,” Biggs responded. “I have a problem eating tacos, brother. Half of it ends up down my shirt.”

On Monday, Hobbs posted a video to her personal account on X of her listening to part of the exchange.

“What?” the governor said as she listened to Biggs’ remarks. Hobbs then proceeded to take a bite of a taco on camera.

That was apparently meant to troll Biggs, whom the governor has publicly said supports tariffs that are hurting the owners of taco trucks, among others.

But the post led to a question for the governor on Wednesday when she spoke with reporters after an event: If she's willing to take on Biggs on how he eats a taco, is she willing to have a televised face-off with Biggs on the issues?

“Andy Biggs won't commit to accepting the results of the election,” the governor shot back. “Why don't you ask him that?”

We did.

“Of course, I will accept the results of the election,” he told Capitol Media Services. “And I hope that means she's going to debate me now."

That willingness is a departure of sorts for Biggs who, while accepting the results of his own multiple elections to the legislature and Congress, was among the leading deniers of the 2020 results, which saw Donald Trump lose his reelection bid.

Biggs tried to convince state House Speaker Rusty Bowers there was fraud in the Arizona election, and, as a member of the U.S. House, Biggs voted on Jan. 6, 2020 to overturn the results nationally.

But Biggs also told Capitol Media Services one reason he believes this election will be fair is because Republican Justin Heap, the choice of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, is now the Maricopa County recorder.

When it comes to ducking debates, Hobbs has a history.

In 2022, as secretary of state in her first bid for governor, she refused to debate former Nogales Mayor Marco Lopez in the Democratic primary.

Hobbs then refused to share a stage with GOP nominee Kari Lake.

In that case Nicole DeMont, Hobbs' campaign manager, charged that Lake, who used her GOP primary debate to decry a “corrupt, stolen election” in 2020, would turn the planned event into “constant interruptions, pointless distractions, and childish name-calling.”

Now, four years later, with the benefit of incumbency — and donations that her campaign said in January totaled $15 million — that leaves the question of whether Hobbs is willing to face off against someone who wants to make her the state’s first one-term governor since 1966.

“It is really early to talk about debates,” Hobbs said on Wednesday.

“That's far away,” she said. “Andy Biggs has a primary to win first. So we'll get there when we get there.”

Biggs is facing off against fellow Republican David Schweikert, who also is a member of Congress. But the governor sidestepped a question of whether she will debate whoever wins the GOP primary.

Hobbs' campaign communications chief Michael Beyer provided no definite answer when asked whether, given Biggs' assurance he will accept the election results, the governor is now willing to agree to a debate.

“As the governor said, it is far too early to be talking about debates,” Beyer said, adding that Biggs “might want to focus on getting through his messy and chaotic primary first.”