By Caitlin Sievers | AZ Mirror
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and his challenger in the Republican primary, Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, came out swinging during a Arizona Clean Elections Commission debate on Thursday.
Yee accused Horne of heading a department whose school voucher program was “complete chaos,” while Horne alleged that Yee wanted to allow parents to purchase Rolex watches with taxpayer money — and that she was part of a diversity, equity and inclusion committee.
Each vehemently denied the other’s claims.
Horne and Yee both have a long history in public office. Horne was a state legislator from 1997 until 2001, superintendent of public instruction from 2003 to 2011 and was state attorney general from 2011 to 2015. An independent investigation later found that Horne improperly used staff in the attorney general’s office in his unsuccessful 2014 reelection campaign.
He began his second stint as schools chief in 2023.
Yee also served in the legislature from 2010 until 2018, when she was first elected treasurer. Prior to that, she was a top aide to then-state Treasurer Dean Martin.
Horne and Yee were the only two Republicans elected to major statewide offices in Arizona in 2022, when Democratic candidates were elected governor, secretary of state and attorney general.
