A far-right Arizona leader says he wants to find a challenger for the current Republican state superintendent.
State Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) leads the Legislature’s Freedom Caucus. On Monday, he accused Superintendent Tom Horne of being the greatest threat to Arizona’s private school voucher program, called Empowerment Scholarship Accounts.
“Tom Horne is the single greatest threat to the ESA program ... the single greatest threat to nearly 100,000 students and their families that are utilizing those programs right now,” Hoffman said.
For that reason, Hoffman said, he’s going to field an opponent in the GOP primary.
Horne accused Hoffman of distorting his record on school choice.
“I think it’s well recognized that I'm the leading defender of parental choice in Arizona and the idea that I’m the threat to us is just a product of a perverted mind,” Horne said.
Hoffman declined to say why Horne is a threat to school choice.
Horne says some lawmakers told him not to limit payouts to families under the ESA program. But he said funds should only be approved for legitimate educational purposes with a reasonable cost, and as the manager of the program, he has the authority to enforce limits.
Without that policy, Horne said he’d have to approve things that don’t make sense like parents asking for ESA dollars to pay for an expensive watch.
He confirmed he is still running for reelection and said he’s not concerned about other Republicans fielding an opponent.
“I know Jake Hoffman and nothing that he does surprises me, he’s kind of a loose cannon,” Horne said.
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