Tom Horne was called Arizona’s worst politician , ever. It is easy to see why.
The 77-year old Republican is being returned to public office by voters. In 2014, he lost his primary after winning five consecutive terms in the Arizona State Legislature — one as Arizona Attorney General, two as State Representative, two as State Superintendent, and two as State Superintendent. Why? Scandals.

Horne was once under investigation by six federal and state agencies simultaneously, including the FBI. He won his post last week by a narrow margin — less than half a percentage point — and defeated Kathy Hoffman, the Democratic incumbent. Most political pundits were shocked to hear that Horne won one of the most prestigious statewide races.

The race for the superintendent was overshadowed by a list of MAGA election deniers including Blake Masters and Kari Lake. It didn’t receive much attention. Horne made use of that, probably because he was well-known for his years as a governor and enjoyed the widespread disapproval among conservatives at Hoffman’s restrictions during pandemic.

Horne, for his part, claimed that children are more resistant to covid than older people.

“My theory is that anti-vaxxer and covid-denying antimasker Republicans wanted to vent their anger about school closings on someone.” Michael Bryan, a local blogger in politics, opined. “Kathy Hoffman is the victim Republican covid-denying ignorance.”

Horne won by less than 9,200 votes. Hoffman conceded the race Thursday.

Hoffman stated, “After a hard-fought battle, we came up short.” “Serving as Arizona’s superintendent for public instruction was one of the greatest honors in my life.”

She didn’t congratulate Horne. Maybe with good reason — his party He was called a “disgrace” Here are four of Horne’s most memorable mishaps.

Tom Horne during his 2010 campaign for Arizona Attorney General.

File photo

To Cover Up An Affair, He Perpetrated a Crime

In 2012, FBI agents viewed Horne, the Attorney-General, as he was being acted upon by his agents. Involved in hit-and-run incident He was in a Phoenix parking lot when he met his mistress. He was married to his wife for 40 years.

After colliding with a parked car and speeding in a car owned by his mistress, Horne caused thousands upon thousands of dollars of damage. Horne pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and was fined $300

His 2014 bid to re-elect himself as attorney general was thwarted by the sex scandal. He was defeated by now-Attorney general Mark Brnovich in the GOP primary.

Tom Horne employed David Stringer, pictured in 2019 before he resigned from the state House in disgrace, in his 2022 campaign.

Joseph Flaherty

He Represented a Child Sex Predator

Interview with August 2022 Horne, Morgan Loews, and “Politics Unplugged” confirmed that David Stringer (a former state representative) was part of his campaign to become school superintendent.

Horne stated that he was innocent of all charges. “Believe it me, if he’d done the same thing, he would have been disbarred.”

2019 Phoenix New Times revealed Stringer refused to cooperate in an ethics investigation into five sex crimes he was charged with in 1983, including child pornography. Stringer resigned as a result. Later in the year.

Stringer was also investigated by the Arizona House Ethics Committee for his racism. It’s not surprising that Horne quickly defends him — it’s something they share in common.

Tom Horne’s many campaign signs dotting metro Phoenix claim that he will “stop critical race theory,” even though there is no such thing in Arizona schools.

Elias Weiss

A Federal Judge declared him Racist

Horne was a former superintendent who advocated for the banning of a program in Tucson that focuses on Mexican-American studies.

2017 After a seven-year legal battle, A federal judge ruled that the prohibition of the curriculum was solely based on a racist hatred for Latino Arizonans.

Horne brought up the topic again in a September 2022 discussion with Hoffman. He was also asked about his position on critical race theory. This academic framework, which examines American history through the lense of racism and has been used by conservatives to silence any discussion around systemic racism.

Horne stated that critical race theory was contrary to what he believes and that what he believes is the American ideal. “In critical race theory they teach children that race is primary and create tension between groups.”

Many of his campaign signs dotted the metro Phoenix claim Horne will “stop critical Race Theory,” even though There is no such thing Arizona schools

Arizona Supreme Court Justice Bill Montgomery announced allegations of illegal campaign coordination against Tom Horne in 2012 when Montgomery was Maricopa County Attorney.

How he escaped charges of collusion

Horne was running for re-election in 2012 as attorney general. He evaded federal obstruction and witness-tampering allegations from the FBI’s extensive investigation into allegations of illegal collusion. Horne’s campaign is rife with violations

Instead of following up on the criminal referral Bill Montgomery, then-Maricopa County attorney, became a justice on Arizona Supreme Court with His own performance problems in office are his. A civil penalty was imposed on Horne and an operative of the campaign. Montgomery claimed coordination between Business Leaders for Arizona and Horne’s campaign.

This type of collusion is against the law in every state. The civil penalties for such collusion are three times as much as the amount in question.

The case was pending before 2017 and involved the Arizona Supreme Court. It was bounced around several times before it was finally assigned to Cochise county Attorney Brian McIntyre. Yavapai County Attorney earlier discovered that Horne had violated campaign finance laws by conspiring to spend campaign money on ads against his Democratic opponent.

Horne Faced a $400,000 penalty McIntyre eventually absolved Horne of any wrongdoing and Horne was never required to pay.