Arizona’s Democrat nominee for Governor, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, struggled in her response to a Univision reporter who asked what she had “learned, specifically, from the Latino community.”
Hobbs’ awkward and jumbled response came on Monday in Phoenix, AZ, during a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Forum, the Daily Caller’s Henry Rodgers reported Wednesday.
“Today, you said that growing up in Arizona, you have seen… how impactful the migrant community, talking about the Hispanic community, has been. Let me ask you, how has it impacted you personally, what have you learned, specifically, from the Latino community?” asked León Krauze of Univision, according to Rodgers.
Hobbs called it a “great question” before stumbling through her answer, which did not point to one specific lesson she has learned, but touted the fact that she has a Latina sister-in-law:
I don’t necessarily think about it that way in those terms. I think I really value my relationships across the board with different folks, and I learn all the time from people in my life. My sister-in-law, she is Latino and her family, I love hanging out with them and practicing my Español, un poquito. So but, yeah, I mean, I just, its, I’ve learned so much from her family, but I think it’s really hard to separate out Arizona and subtract Latino culture because it’s so much of who we are as a state. And I, and I – Arizona wouldn’t be Arizona without what the Latino community brings.
“So there’s not one specific lesson you can share, other than Espanol… [inaudible],” he followed up, drawing nervous laughter from Hobbs. “It’s one-third of the state.”
“Yes, yes, absolutely,” she said. “I think there’s many lessons. The emphasis on family values, hard work, those are, those are something that I value in my own life and, you know, it’s something, I, that I respect.”
Will Reinert, a spokesman with the Republican Governors Association, slammed Hobbs’ awkward response.
“Katie Hobbs and her team know her largest liability is her inability to connect with voters on issues that matter,” Reinert said in a statement. ” Yet, Hobbs still struck out when asked an important, yet softball question, that a third of the voters in Arizona deem incredibly important.”
Hobbs has faced criticism for ducking debates with her Republican opponent, Kari Lake, a former Fox 10 Phoenix anchor who is endorsed by former President Donald J Trump. Despite from the Arizona Clean Elections Commission to debate Lake, Hobbs spokeswoman Nicole DeMont said the Democrat would not share the stage with Lake.
At her first stop on her “Ask Me Anything” tour in Phoenix last month, Lake was asked why she thinks Hobbs refuses to debate.
“I think the same reason that I won’t box Mike Tyson,” Lake jested. “It would not end well for me, and it won’t end well for her.”
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