Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake disagree over Arizona Senate debate format
GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake has long challenged her Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego to debate, but she's criticizing the Arizona Clean Elections Commission.
PHOENIX — As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris squabble over the terms of their coming presidential debate, a similar dispute is taking place in the Arizona Senate race.
The state’s GOP Senate candidate, Kari Lake, has long challenged her Democratic competitor, Rep. Ruben Gallego, to take the debate stage. Now that Gallego says he’s game, Lake is insisting the debate deviate from its traditional format.
“I am ready to debate Ruben Gallego right now, right here,” a defiant Lake said at a news conference in Phoenix on March 15.
“I’ll debate him at that table right now,” she added, pointing to the distance, summoning chuckles from the crowd. “I’ll debate him any time.”
More than four months on, after the Gallego-Lake electoral matchup was formalized once both candidates won their respective primaries, Gallego confirmed to NBC News that he is ready for a debate — but Lake has appeared more selective about who should organize one.
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