As I look around the political landscape heading into the mid-terms, there’s one campaign that continually has me scratching my head: Katie Hobbs in Arizona.

The Democrat candidate for governor has run one of the most nonsensical, self-destructive races I’ve witnessed in a nationalized race. Hobbs has steadfastly refused to debate Republican Kari Lake, a clear mistake that has obviously cost the Democrat support down the home stretch.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Not debating Lake is one thing, as big of a blunder as it may be, but Hobbs also refuses to talk to the press. She constantly runs from their questions and attempts to only approve pre-arranged sitdowns with friendly figures. It’s almost as if she has some kind of phobia about being around other people, and that’s pretty disqualifying for someone wanting to be the governor of a state.

Her tendency to ditch the press reached its peak recently, though, when an absolutely wild story emerged. According to multiple sources, including RedState’s own Cameron Arcand (who was present when it happened), Hobbs left journalists sitting in a school room, with the expectation being that she would show up, while she escaped down a freight elevator.

Reporters were held in a room at Arizona’s largest journalism school Tuesday and prevented from questioning gubernatorial candidate @katiehobbss, who left in a freight elevator @Cronkite_ASU. Story by @sbarchenger via @azcentral https://t.co/I4z3Nz4Ttz

— Robert Anglen (@robertanglen) October 19, 2022

I’ve got a serious question: What the heck even is this campaign?

Really, I don’t get it. Why would Hobbs continue to run from a press in Arizona (and certainly nationally) that is more in her corner than not? A good candidate would be doing non-stop gaggles, fielding mostly softballs, and hitting them out of the park. Instead, Hobbs continues to run in terror, and in ways that ultimately become public, making her look weak and pathetic. Further, her behavior is actually turning the press against her, which seems sub-optimal for a Democrat running for office.

I recently wrote about another incident where Hobbs freaked out at a town hall, refusing to come out of the green room because Kari Lake was in the audience. Someone who can’t even see her opponent in the same room wants to be Governor of Arizona. Make it make sense.

I get that Hobbs is a quintessential “Karen” who can’t defend her policy positions. But my word, you’d at least expect her to try to run a somewhat competent campaign, especially given all the out-of-state support she’s enjoyed. Things have gotten so bad that I sometimes wonder if she wants to lose.

I’m not quite ready to accept that theory, but if there’s another Democrat in the country who has run a campaign this badly (among major candidates), I’d be interested to hear who they are. Hobbs’ strategy appears to be avoiding her opponent at all costs while ticking off those who might otherwise offer her favorable coverage. What is her plan here? To subsist off too-online liberals screaming about “election denial?” Whatever the plan is, it’s a bad one.