State Superintendent of Schools Tom Horne is coming under fire for gutting some of the state’s nationally renowned Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), considered one of the best ESA programs in the country since all students — including those in private schools, microschools, Christian schools, and homeschoolers — are eligible. After his ESA handbook committee drafted guidelines, his administration changed their draft to limit certain expenditures for students — restricting them from the full access provided to traditional public school students.
State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) (pictured here) is trying to find a conservative to run against Horne in the primary in 2026 due to his dismantling of the popular program, which allows students to use funds for their K-12 education in nontraditional ways. Hoffman posted on X earlier this month, “Tom Horne is the greatest threat to school choice & the ESA program in Arizona. Tom Horne will lose to the Democrat in the 2026 general election. Arizona needs a strong, pro-school choice candidate for this very important office. I’m working on identifying that candidate now.”
In a follow-up post, Hoffman noted that Horne “voted NO on AZ’s signature School Tuition Organization (STO) Tax Credit Program in 1997” as a state legislator, which was the state’s original launch of school choice.“ He was responding to a post by Horne that claimed, “I brought school choice to Arizona in the 90s with my legislation.”
Jason Bedrick, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, added, “With respect, Supt. Horne. No you did not. Not only were you *not* the sponsor of HB 2704 in 1997, which created the School Tuition Organization Tax Credit Program, but you voted NO on final passage. You voted to block school choice.”
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