This election season, Gov. Doug Ducey has cleared his schedule for a number of publicity events. However, critics have noticed he has not accepted invitations to debate more pressing topics like school safety and gun control.

He showed up last week for a food bank ceremony and, this week in front of TV cameras, he held a ceremonial signing of a child safety bill after returning from Washington to help President Trump praise U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents.

But when asked why he turned down an invitation to discuss gun and school safety with his Republican challengers, he blamed his schedule.

"We get thousands and thousands and thousands of requests," Ducey explained. "I've often said, tongue-in-cheek, that this would be a great job for someone with a miserable home life because you could be gone morning, noon and night."

Ducey denied avoiding events where he could be questioned about his positions.

The governor spent the rest of Tuesday at a closed-to-the-public meeting of insurance company employees and later gave a speech to members of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns where attendees paid several hundred dollars to register.