Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs retreated into a restaurant bathroom to escape questioning from an activist, only leaving when a staff member and car came by to whisk her away.
A representative with the activist group Project Veritas Action (PVA), known for its hidden camera stings, approached Hobbs, the Democratic nominee to be the next governor of Arizona, while she appeared to be eating outside at a restaurant. After PVA press secretary R.C. Maxwell introduced himself, Hobbs immediately made to leave, knocking her drink over in the process.
BREAKING: @katiehobbs and Head Consultant @jwolf722 hide out in restaurant bathrooms before fleeing scene to avoid answering Project Veritas Action questions on undercover revelations
"Katie it's me…We're gonna leave, there's a car right here."#AZGov pic.twitter.com/gQuzzxnhTG
— Lara Logan (@laralogan) October 12, 2022
Maxwell attempted to question Hobbs about statements she and her staff made during PVA hidden camera stings against the Hobbs campaign.
“Secretary Hobbs?” Maxwell asked, walking up to Hobbs.
“Oh my God,” an apparently surprised Hobbs said.
“How’s it going? Didn’t mean to scare you there,” Maxwell said before introducing himself. “I want to ask you a brief question about …”
Hobbs interjected,” You have a great day,” then got up and spilled her drink before leaving the outdoor dining area. Maxwell followed.
“I just wanted to ask you about some comments you’ve made on undercover footage regarding having a disdain for discussing politics, ma’am,” Maxwell said. He was referencing an undercover video that shows Hobbs recounting a story about how she refused to talk about her job with an Uber driver because she did not want to discuss politics with “anyone who I don’t know.”
Hobbs began walking down the street refusing to answer Maxwell’s continued questions. A later clip showed her walking into a restaurant bathroom to escape the confrontation with Maxwell. Someone familiar to Hobbs later came and escorted her past Maxwell and out of the restaurant to a car waiting in the parking lot.
Hobbs has refused to face her opponent, Republican Kari Lake, in a one-on-one debate. Hobbs has claimed that any debate with Lake would be chaos and Hobbs has denounced Lake as a “conspiracy theorist.” Instead of a debate, Hobbs has pushed for a format that would resemble back-to-back town halls with each candidate.
Lake has continued to hammer Hobbs over her refusal to debate. Lake at one time offered to let Hobbs to set the terms of the debate, though Hobbs never accepted.
“I made it unbelievably easy for her. She picks the date, the time, and the moderator. She even had the chance to write all of the questions, but she would rather hide from the voters and let Soros and other dark money millions of dollars into attack ads against me,” Lake said in a campaign video posted online in September.