Heading into the 2026 general election in Arizona, residents will not see the governor or lieutenant governor candidates debate.
Arizonans won't get to see Katie Hobbs and Andy Biggs debate each other ahead of the November general election.
"Face-to-face engagement with Arizonans is more effective than a stage designed for short soundbites and political theater,'' Nicole DeMont, the governor's campaign manager, announced July 30.
Instead, DeMont said that Hobbs will instead focus on traveling around the state to listen to what people want.
Hobbs’ pick for lieutenant governor, former Mesa Mayor John Giles, also will not participate in any public debate.
The Arizona Clean Elections Commission has a lieutenant governor debate scheduled for October 5, but DeMont said in a statement Aug. 11 that the Hobbs-Giles campaign believes “face to face engagement with Arizonans is more effective” than debating.
"The independent and persuadable voters up for grabs in Arizona deserve to hear from statewide candidates in a traditional debate setting," said Drew Sexton, an adviser to the Biggs campaign. And Sexton said that was the case going back to 1954, unbroken until the 2022 election.
But Biggs himself did not participate in debates in 2022 and 2024 when he was running for reelection for Congress.
Sexton said there's no comparison.
"There's a difference between congressional and statewide debates in terms of the ability to reach out and actually connect with voters,'' he said.
Biggs’ lieutenant governor pick, Sine Kerr, said on X that she was “looking forward” to debating Giles.
Following the Hobbs’ campaign’s comment that neither candidate will debate, Kerr said she’s disappointed but not entirely surprised.
“It’s really unfortunate that they don't want to stand for a debate. They don't want to answer tough questions,” Kerr said. “I think it’s very disrespectful to the people, to the voters of Arizona.”
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