As we head toward Arizona’s August primary elections, KJZZ's The Show is inviting the candidates in contested races to talk about why they’re running and some of the key issues in their contests.
Diane Douglas, the incumbent superintendent of public instruction, won the 2014 election against Democrat David Garcia by just one percentage point. Now she’s facing a slew of Republican challengers in her party’s August primary.
Douglas has a business background, she worked in accounting and financial analysis before being elected, and served as a board member for the Peoria Unified School District. She ran on a platform of repealing the Obama-era Common Core standards, which she says she achieved.
But she’s also been entangled in several public disputes with the State Board of Education and the governor. She angered teachers when she suggested those who walked out as part of #RedForEd might face punishment for it — and her department most recently created a firestorm after proposing that the word “evolution” be replaced or qualified in the state’s science standards.