Overview
- At a police-association forum in downtown Phoenix, which took place Tuesday, Gov. Katie Hobbs and Rep. Andy Biggs each answered the same public-safety questions separately for law-enforcement leaders and the public.
- Hobbs accused Biggs of backing Jan. 6 defendants and of standing outside a D.C. jail when President Trump issued pardons, a claim Biggs described to reporters as "an absolute lie."
- Live reporting by NBC and a Washington affiliate placed Biggs at the scene outside the jail on the day of the pardons, and his prior social posts show he publicly urged pardons for Jan. 6 defendants, creating a direct credibility dispute between the campaigns.
- The candidates laid out competing public-safety plans: Hobbs cited more than $200 million in state support for local police and large drug seizures including over 18 million fentanyl pills, while Biggs called to fully fund and revive the Border Security Strike Force, appoint a state "border czar," and push tougher sentences for fentanyl sellers.
- The forum could be one of the few shared events before Election Day because Hobbs declined an October debate, and the contest remains shaped by heavy outside spending and an ongoing Arizona attorney general inquiry into campaign donations.