In an interview this week, Hobbs said Arizona voters deserve transparency and that she would pursue changes to campaign-finance rules if she wins a second term. But when asked directly whether she would rule out donations from contractors, she did not give a yes-or-no answer.

“I think that this, again, goes beyond one contractor and one contribution,” Hobbs said. Asked to clarify whether she would continue accepting money from state contractors, she said she had followed the law and that her administration was working to improve transparency.

The dispute involves allegations that a state contractor made a large donation to Hobbs while seeking, and later receiving, a substantially larger extension of a state contract. Hobbs has denied wrongdoing and maintained that her office acted lawfully.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes cleared Hobbs of wrongdoing in August, while also urging stronger laws to restrict this type of political giving. Hobbs proposed changes this year, but they did not advance in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Biggs has made the issue a central part of his campaign. His campaign said in a statement that companies may give to Hobbs because of the governor’s influence over state business.

The unresolved question is not only whether the allegations resulted in a legal violation — Mayes concluded they did not — but whether existing rules adequately guard against the appearance that political donations can influence public contracting. Hobbs says she will seek more transparency; her comments left open whether that would include a personal commitment to refuse contractor contributions.