Ruiz leading Yee in race for superintendent of public instruction

Key Points:

• Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz has a 10-point lead over Republican Kimberly Yee following early returns

• While sizable, this is one of the closer statewide races, and could get tight as Election Day votes come in

• Yee is the current state treasurer and ousted incumbent Tom Horne in the Republican primary

Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz was leading the race for superintendent of public instruction Tuesday night, with a sizable lead over Republican Kimberly Yee. 

As of 10 p.m., Ruiz was leading Yee 55% to 45% with about 1.6 million votes counted. While still a double-digit lead, it wasn’t as large as those for other statewide Democratic candidates.

Ruiz, a Democrat, is a math teacher and the former president of Glendale Community College. She promoted herself as an educator while criticizing Yee, the current state treasurer and a former lawmaker, as a career politician during the race.

At an election night party hosted by Arizona Democrats, Ruiz said she would focus on students and schools and “bring back respect for this noble profession.” 

Yee pledged to direct more money to classroom funding and support school choice. 

The two clashed over accountability in the Empowerment Scholarship Account program — the state’s school choice program — and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 

Ruiz said Tuesday she doesn’t know what the future of the ESA program would look like if Democrats gain control of the Legislature, a possibility as of Tuesday night. 

“What I will do as superintendent, if I’m elected, is make sure that our taxpayer resources are really focused on education,” Ruiz said. “So let’s hold the system accountable, so that for those parents who are using it the right way, they can continue.” 

Yee did not have a public election night event, and her campaign had not issued any statement on the race as of 10 p.m.  

A poll released last week by Noble Predictive Insights showed Yee with a likely two-point lead over Ruiz. A HighGround Public Affairs poll had Ruiz ahead by four points. 

Fundraising has also been close. Yee raised $582,000 this election cycle while Ruiz raised $566,000. Both had spent around $320,000 as of Sept. 30, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

Staff writer Carsten Oyer contributed to this report.