Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen is aiming for the state's public broadcasting network, demanding federal regulators take away Arizona PBS of its broadcast license over alleged bias in the 2022 governor's race.
President Petersen filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week, accusing the ASU-affiliated station KAET of "viewpoint discrimination" and partisan interference in the heated contest between Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs.
"I have asked the FCC to revoke PBS's license," Petersen announced on social media, claiming the station engaged in "blatant viewpoint discrimination against Kari Lake and partisan calculations designed to benefit Katie Hobbs."
The planned gubernatorial debate, in which Kari Lake was supposed to participate, was canceled when Katie Hobbs declined to participate.
According to recently uncovered internal communications from Arizona State University, President Michael Crow and other officials, including former Arizona Republic publisher Mi-Ai Parrish, discussed how to handle the situation. In private messages, Crow allegedly called Lake an "election denier," while Parrish reportedly argued that Lake's views on election integrity shouldn't be given airtime.
Instead of the original debate format, Arizona PBS offered Hobbs a solo 30-minute interview, what Petersen describes as an "unprecedented" platform that gave the Democratic candidate uncontested access to voters.
Lake was supposed to get her solo interview on October 12, 2022, but the station canceled it just hours before filming was scheduled to begin.
Petersen alleges the timing was no coincidence. According to his complaint, ASU President Crow questioned whether Lake should receive equal treatment given her positions on election integrity. The day after that internal discussion, university officials allegedly predicted Hobbs would win the election.
"Recently uncovered documents show that Arizona PBS violated legal rules, contractual requirements, and long-standing traditions to improperly put its thumb on the scale of the 2022 Arizona governor's race," Petersen stated.
Lake has described the incident as coordinated censorship by taxpayer-funded institutions.
"Taxpayer-funded Michael Crow and taxpayer-funded ASU, along with taxpayer-funded PBS, colluded to prevent me from having a debate forum," Lake said in an August 7 statement.
She argues officials feared she would raise election-related concerns and believed Hobbs would perform poorly in a head-to-head debate.
Lake characterizes the actions as both a violation of her constitutional rights and potential election interference.
In his complaint, Petersen requests that the FCC look into whether Arizona PBS broke federal broadcasting laws requiring public stations to report political races fairly. Compared to commercial broadcasters, public broadcasting stations are subject to stricter equality regulations and receive federal support.
The Senate President argues that the station's decision to air Hobbs' interview while canceling Lake's constituted illegal viewpoint discrimination that may have influenced the outcome of Arizona's closely-watched governor's race.
The FCC has not yet responded to Petersen's complaint. Arizona PBS and ASU have not issued statements regarding the license revocation demand.
