PHOENIX Democrat Katie Hobbs said she doesnt regret her decision not to debate her Republican opponent for governor, Kari Lake a move that even some of her supporters dont agree with given such a tight race.

A debate never helps a candidate win, the secretary of state told HuffPost after an event Saturday with about a dozen people at a restaurant in Glendale, Arizona. I mean, it is were talking to voters and I guarantee its not something theyre concerned about. I guarantee the person who is rationing their insulin or opening their refrigerator and figuring out how theyre going to put food on the table with the groceries they have left for the week ... isnt going to open their ballot and say, Damn, I wish Katie had done a debate.

Hobbs is taking heat for not debating Lake, a former newscaster who is slightly leading Hobbs in the races polling average , meaning its still anyones race to lose with just over two weeks until Election Day. The Democrat has previously defended her position by arguing that Lake wants a spectacle more than a substantive policy discussion and blaming the Arizona GOP primary debates for making voters dumber.