Arizona's Katie Hobbs backed by group that wants to defund police, abolish border protection

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Katie Hobbs struggles on questions about avoiding debates

Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs struggled to answer questions about why she refuses to debate her Republican opponent Kari Lake ahead of the election.

Arizona Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs is backed by a far-left advocacy group that wants to defund police and abolish border patrol and recently campaigned alongside them.

Hobbs, who is locked in a tight race with Republican opponent Kari Lake, attended a campaign rally this past weekend alongside Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), a progressive group that works on wage and immigration issues.

"Getting hyped with [Arizona Education Association] and [Katie Hobbs]," LUCHA tweeted from the Saturday rally. "Creating a better, fully funded education system is a must!!"

In her quest to become Arizona's governor, Hobbs landed an endorsement from LUCHA, which has repeatedly called for defunding police and abolishing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

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LUCHA has attended Phoenix defund police rallies and, on several occasions, has called to strip law enforcement of their budgets.

"Phoenix has one of the deadliest police forces," the group tweeted in 2020. "They do not protect the community. Phx needs to defund police and invest in programs that create healthy communities."

"In the midst of the Black Lives Matter protest... there is a growing awareness in the immigrant and Latino communities that calls to defund police also can apply to law enforcement resources used for separating children from parents, detaining and deporting," they said that same year.

LUCHA has also repeatedly taken aim at CBP, the law enforcement agency tasked with arresting illegal immigrants, and is allied with organizations that make up the "Defund Hate" coalition that advocates for abolishing CBP and ICE.

"Not a victory until parents & children are freed!" LUCHA tweeted in 2018. "We must #AbolishICE & #AbolishCBP!"

The group has also staged protests outside of ICE facilities. "Yesterday outside of the ICE building in Phoenix community send a clear and loud message: #AbolishICE and no one belongs in cages!" they added during President Trump's administration.

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LUCHA is led by Alejandra Gomez, who was featured days ago in a glowing Guardian piece on Latino activists who have changed politics in The Grand Canyon State and their rush to rally voters against Republican candidates for the midterm elections.

LUCHA does not disclose its donors, but in 2019 they received $1.5 million from George Soros' Open Society Policy Center to "support policy advocacy led by communities of color in Arizona." In 2017, Soros' policy center sent $250,000 to LUCHA through the Brooklyn-based Center for Popular Democracy Action, his grants show.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is facing off against Republican Kari Lake in this November's election. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

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Additionally, LUCHA has received money passed through the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a nonprofit incubator at America's largest dark money network managed by the Washington, D.C.-based Arabella Advisors consulting firm. Between 2019 and 2020, the Sixteen Thirty Fund passed nearly $250,000 to LUCHA, the fund's tax forms show.

Katie Hobbs' campaign did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.