Kari Lake removed from Arizona town hall event with Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs

Katie Hobbs (D) has said that she has no interest in debating her opponent Kari Lake (R) in the Arizona gubernational race. Lake attempted to facilitate this when she turned up at an Arizona Town Hall.

The rules set by the town hall stipulated that both candidates were not permitted to share the stage at any time. According to NBC News, Hobbs was schedule to go first, in the event which will air on Saturday at 7pm Arizona time.

The event hit a snag before any of the contestants were able to speak. Lake positioned herself in the front row ahead of Hobbs taking the stage. Lake was directly in the where Hobbs would be sitting on the stage, NBC reported.

Organizers said that Lake was supposed to remain in a separate room while Hobbs was on stage. Lake said she was unaware of this rule and insisted that Hobbs should come out and debate her, which Hobbs has declined to do.

There were approximately 200 people in the audience and one witness said that event moderator, León Krauze, did invite Hobbs to come on to stage.

The eyewitness added that Krauze then communicated with someone using an earpiece before informing Lake she had to leave the room. Lake then addressed Krauze and made her case for a debate.

​​”I would love to be on the same stage actually. Is that possible?” Lake asked.

Krauze replied: “I know it would [be something you would want to do]. And I’m going to ask [Hobbs] about that. Trust me.”

Lake then told Krauze that she wanted “a real debate,” to which he repeated that he would ask Hobbs about it.

“Unfortunately, you’re not going to be able to share the stage with Miss Hobbs,” he argued. “I cannot invite her to the stage if you are in the audience. This is not me. This is the… the campaign agreement.”

“I’m happy to be here. I don’t think I should be trapped in my room. I’d love to be part of this,” Lake said, partially facing the audience. “We should be talking about the issues that affect everyone… I want the people here to know I’m willing to sit on stage with Miss Hobbs and talk about the important issues.”

Mary Rabago, who was the event’s producer then appeared on stage to address Lake, requesting that she “do us the honor to go to your designated area… This is a town hall. That was the agreement that we have. I really want to make sure that the audience… can hear you both. So if you don’t mind — continue with our agreement. I would really appreciate it so we can respect the time of everyone.”

“You will have plenty of time, I promise,” Rabago said. “We designated the same amount of time for both of you guys. We’re going to have you onstage. This is the opportunity for you guys to share your platform, your ideals… your vision. But please respect that agreement that we have.”

After Lake’s pleas fell on deaf ears, she complied and left the hall. After she had left, Hobbs took to the stage and delivered her speech.

The Hobbs campaign reportedly furnished NBC with a pre-event email from the organizers that said “each candidate will have their own separate green room to prep and hold prior to going onto the main stage.”

The Lake campaign said they did not receive this email, and they were under the impression that the green room was optional.

Lake issued a response through her Twitter page, The Kari Lake War Room, saying: “The people of Arizona deserve a debate, and they certainly don’t deserve @katiehobbs as Governor. So Hobbs can go hide in the green room. @KariLake will happily make her case to the people.”