Tom Horne will likely face incumbent Kathy Hoffman in superintendent of public instruction race

By Greg Hahne, Ben Giles
Published: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 - 2:14pm

tom horne
Tom Horne for Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tom Horne

Republican Tom Horne will likely face incumbent Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman in the November election.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Horne was leading the primary race with about 43% of the vote. Horne is beating out two other opponents on the GOP ticket — Shiry Sapir and Michelle Udall — to get the GOP nod.

Hoffman ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

kathy hoffman
Kathy Hoffman for Superintendent
Kathy Hoffman

Horne is running for an office he previously held for eight years, serving from 2003 to 2011. After that he was elected as Arizona’s attorney general, but lost a reelection bid amid allegations of campaign finance violations and an FBI investigation that unveiled an extra-marital affair. Seeking public office once more, Horne is running on a platform to fight critical race theory, stop cancel culture and promote patriotism.

Hoffman is running for reelection after winning as a first-time candidate in 2018. She previously worked as a preschool teacher and a speech-language pathologist. As superintendent, she’s been a strong advocate of public schools and an opponent of expanding access to Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, Arizona’s school voucher program.

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