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The Arizona governor鈥檚 race, among the nation鈥檚 most closely watched, wasn鈥檛 that state鈥檚 only consequential election for children. Far from the spotlight, another, quieter battle, this one to head the school system, was won by a man who had the job before and who is remembered 鈥� at least by some 鈥� for the multiple scandals that marked his years of public service.

Republican Tom Horne, a 77-year-old Harvard-educated attorney, is returning to the job he held from 2003 to 2011, before completing a four-year stint as state attorney general. His critics worry he will reverse progress made under Democratic incumbent Kathy Hoffman, whom he narrowly beat, and will relax standards around the state’s newly expanded and long fought-over voucher program. 

His re-emergence alarms those who remember how he proudly dismantled bilingual education in the state earlier in his career and pushed to ban an ethnic studies program credited for better engaging Hispanic students by teaching them about their own history. Now, Horne is fixated on another topic, a new iteration of one of his older concerns: critical race theory. 

The catch-all term used by conservatives to describe the teaching of systemic racism is, in Horne鈥檚 view, an extension of the problem surrounding ethnic studies, in which children, he argues, are taught to view each other through the lens of race.

鈥淲hat matters is what we know, what we do,鈥� Horne told 麻豆精品. 鈥淩ace is entirely irrelevant. My opponents say race is primary. I don鈥檛 want to teach kids that race is primary, but that they have to treat each other as individuals.鈥�

A court ruled in 2017 that the ethnic studies ban he lobbied for against the Tucson Unified School District was and But Horne disagrees, maintaining the same position more than a decade later. 

Horne, who calls himself 鈥渢he opposite of a racist,鈥� said he supports teaching history in totality, including “the horrors of slavery, Jim Crow鈥�[and] what happened in Oklahoma,鈥� a reference to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. He advocates for a curriculum that teaches every student about the contribution of all groups, he said.

A former state legislator who also served on the board of Phoenix鈥檚 Paradise Valley School District from 1978 to 2002, Horne has made numerous other pledges which he believes will bolster student performance and make campuses safer. 

He vowed to renew the state鈥檚 focus on testing, turn away from social-emotional learning, push for more guns on campus, impose stricter school discipline 鈥� and amp up newly expanded universal Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, signed into law by outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey in July. The program gives families approximately $6,500 a year per student to spend on private school tuition or other educational costs, like tutoring. It was initially offered to only a limited number of students, including those who attended failing schools or were in foster care, but is now available to all.

Critics say the new program will benefit the rich, not the poor as Horne has previously stated. But parents across the country, frustrated by school closures and disastrous distance learning efforts, are pushing for greater flexibility in their children鈥檚 education: A ballot measure to kill the voucher expansion in Arizona failed to gain enough signatures this election cycle.

Beth Lewis, co-founder and executive director of Save Our Schools Arizona, which formed in 2017 to oppose universal vouchers, has worked in education in the state for 12 years, with half of that time spent as a teacher in a Tempe elementary school. She said Horne鈥檚 plan will exacerbate inequality. 

“I鈥檝e always taught in extremely low-income schools,鈥� she said. “I see the impact of defunding public education 鈥� to not have counselors, aides, books and computers 鈥� and to have that money go [instead] to families already sending their kids to elite private schools 鈥� and who make millions 鈥� is painful,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 outright lying.鈥�

Prior to the expansion, just 12,127 children participated in the ESA program, state education officials said. The figure shot up to 42,842 by early December: Approximately 67% of the applicants did not have a prior record of public school enrollment. It鈥檚 unclear how many were already enrolled in private school or who were being taught at home. 

But the voucher program is not Lewis鈥檚 only concern: She worries Horne鈥檚 election will mark a major regression in other, critical ways. 

“There is a fear we will take 10 or 20 steps backward,鈥� she said. “He has an antiquated belief system. It鈥檚 not just that he鈥檚 conservative but an extremist, authoritarian. He鈥檚 all about forcing guns on campus. It鈥檚 all about the tests, this grind culture, punishment 鈥� a punitive nature around school. As a teacher, I just don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 what our kids need or deserve.鈥�

Nicky Indicavitch, a parent and volunteer in her local school district, said Horne鈥檚 vow to dismantle social-emotional learning 鈥� he calls it 鈥渁 front for CRT鈥� 鈥� will take away a critical tool teachers use to help students manage their stress, bolster their performance and improve the classroom environment. 

鈥淚 have seen firsthand what happens when young people are not given the skills they need to manage complex social settings and how disruptive their behavior can become,鈥� said Indicavitch, who has experience in social work. 鈥淭om Horne vowing to remove this valuable piece of education will only cause our children, their classmates and educators to struggle more.鈥� 

Controversial record perhaps forgotten

Bill Scheel, a long-time political consultant, said Horne has always been a divisive candidate centering on race-based issues. 

鈥淗e really has not changed his stripes or tactics in 20 years,鈥� he said.

Horne was wise to stay away from the public spotlight since he last held office in 2014, Scheel said. Prior to that, he was investigated by numerous entities, including the FBI, for . 

He paid a $10,000 fine and no criminal charges were filed: Horne said he was .

鈥淯nder the First Amendment, if you run for public office, people can lie about you without any consequence,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is a lot of lying that goes on.鈥�

Horne also was criticized for hiring an assistant attorney general, Carmen Chenal, despite her : He said recently that she was amply qualified and did an excellent job, particularly by utilizing her skills as a Spanish speaker. 

Horne also was alleged to have left the scene of a in 2012, an incident that led to yet another scandal: Chenal was with Horne when the accident occurred in a parking lot near her apartment. The two married in 2020. 

As for the damages done to the other vehicle, Horne said at least some of it can be attributed to the vehicle  

All of these incidents come decades after the released damning findings about Horne鈥檚 previous business, allegations he dismissed in a recent email because they happened in the 1970s.

“He kept himself under the radar and I guess, to his credit, he did not attach himself to the Trump ticket,鈥� Scheel said. “That kept some of that fire away from him.鈥�

Trump-backed candidates across the country, including in Arizona, suffered : Kari Lake, a MAGA Republican who narrowly lost the race for governor of the state, has . Attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh, another Trump pick, is just hundreds of votes behind his Democratic opponent and is .

Raised and spent over a $1M 

Horne stuck with CRT longer than others, but it鈥檚 not clear if his desire to limit classroom discussions of race 鈥� along with his opposition to bilingual education 鈥� were persuasive in a year when Arizona voters also approved a measure .

Beyond the low profile nature of the race, Scheel noted Horne far outspent Hoffman. The former preschool teacher and speech language pathologist was not a career politician, he said: She was elected amid a swarm of similar victories for . 

“He raised and spent over $1 million,鈥� Scheel said. 鈥淪he had $300,000.”

Hoffman鈥檚 nearly non-existent campaign allowed her challenger to be largely unharmed by a revelation that might have leveled another candidate. Horne was found to be in close ties with disgraced former state Rep. David Stringer, who was accused, in 1983, of with him. 

Stringer rather than disclose documents related to the case. 

Most recently, . Horne initially Stringer but later stepped away from him, telling 麻豆精品 he paid Stringer cash to return his in-kind contribution to the campaign. 

The issue never really gained traction with voters. 

鈥淭hat鈥檚 where more money could have elevated that current scandal and really damaged him,鈥� Scheel said. 

Douglas Cole, chief operating officer of HighGround, a Republican-leaning political consulting firm, said Horne has long remained focused on the issues. 

鈥淗e鈥檚 a policy wonk,鈥� Cole said. 鈥淗e always has been. He was that way as a [state] legislator, in the House of Representatives. He takes on controversial issues he believes in and fights for them. He gets pretty passionate about where he thinks things should go.鈥�

No matter his ambitions for schools, his is a supervisory and regulatory position: Scheel isn鈥檛 sure how far Horne will get with a Democratic governor and, likely, attorney general. Cole agreed. 

“If he wants to make sweeping changes, he would have to convince 16 senators, 31 members of the House and a governor of the opposite party,鈥� Cole said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 operating in a different paradigm. He鈥檚 not a lawmaker.”

Despite this, Horne, a lifelong pianist who plays with local orchestras and supports funding for the arts, is determined to make change. 

He promises to investigate and quash any ethnic studies programs that have cropped up since he last held the post, saying the situation is much worse now than it was a decade ago: The teachings, he said, are more widespread.

“I have been fighting CRT since 2010, for 12 years, and for a long time felt like a voice in the wilderness,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until the last couple of years that the rest of the world caught up.”

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