2026 Election: Democratic candidates for state superintendent to take part in debate
PHOENIX - A primary election debate for the office of Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction is set to take place on May 13.
Here's what to know.
Who's organizing the debate?
Per their website, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission is the official debate sponsor.
Who will take part?
The commission's website states that the debate on May 13 will only involve Democratic Party candidates for the post. Brett Newby and Teresa Leyba Ruiz will take part in the debate.
Dig deeper:
On his website, Newby describes himself as a "livelong coach, educator, and Board Certified Behavior Analyst." Newby's positions including stopping the expansion of the state's ESA school voucher program, restoring full-day kindergarten, and permanently fixing the state's Aggregate Expenditure Limit rules, which is a school spending cap that voters approved in 1980s by resetting the base year to reflect current costs, and index it to inflation via the ballot box.
Meanwhile, the website for Ruiz describes her as an educator with 35 years of experience, as well as a former president of Glendale Community College. Her listed priorities include transparency reforms to the ESA, listening tours to hear concerns from families, and advocate for increased public school funding at the state legislature.
Why are there no Republican candidates?
The debate involving Republican candidates for the Superintendent post will take place on May 14, according to the Citizens Clean Elections Commission. Two candidates - Kimberly Yee and incumbent Tom Horne - are scheduled to take part.
When are the primaries?
Primary elections will happen statewide on July 21, according to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the Arizona Secretary of State's Office, and the campaign websites for Brett Newby and Teresa Leyba Ruiz.