Superintendent Tom Horne responds to Kimberly Yee’s projected win

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) - Superintendent Tom Horne has issued a statement regarding Kimberly Yee projected to win the GOP primary for Arizona Superintendent of Schools.

"Over the last three years, it's been an honor serving as Arizona's State Superintendent of Schools. We focused on school safety by increasing the number of officers on campuses from 117 to almost 500, fought to keep boys out of girls' sports and bathrooms, created a free tutoring program where a number of students made six months of progress in one six-week tutoring session. We sent school improvement teams to hundreds of schools to help increase academic achievement, and in working with the bottom 5% of schools, 80% of the schools ended up not in the bottom 80%. I lobbied the legislature to increase salaries for educators, and for a cell phone ban so now teachers can focus on academics rather than dealing with students scrolling on their cell phones."

Tom Horne, Arizona Superintendent of Schools

Superintendent Horne added, "My focus for the next five months is to continue and extend our work to help the schools improve academic outcomes for students."

Yee was projected as the winner during Tuesday's Arizona primary election, and will face off against Democratic nominee Teresa Leyba Ruiz, who defeated Brett Matthew Newby in the Arizona primary.

In response to her projected win, Yee issued a statement on social media, saying in part, "This victory belongs to the thousands of dedicated supporters and volunteers who worked tirelessly across the state. Your belief in our vision for Arizona’s children made all the difference."

Yee is currently the Arizona State Treasurer, having been elected into office back in 2018, and has served in the Arizona State Senate, representing District 20, from 2013 to 2019 as well as served in the Arizona House of Representatives, serving District 10, from 2011 to 2013.

To learn more about Yee, click here.