Republican Tom Horne, attempting to hang on to his post as superintendent of public instruction, lists $474,500 in campaign spending for the past three months.
Like some others with a close race coming up in Tuesday's primary election, his spending far exceeds the $34,200 he took in over the last three months.
Still, that leaves him with almost $390,000 in the bank, with Horne's campaign aided by $561,000 of his own money.
His opponent in Tuesday's primary, state Treasurer Kimberly Yee, had a more balanced cash flow in the last reporting period, with receipts pretty much equaling expenses. Her cash on hand is listed at nearly $246,000.
But there's another player in this two-way election.
A group called Arizonans for Election Integrity spent close to $200,000 on a TV commercial that, given its music and graphics designed to look Chinese, was interpreted by Yee to mock her heritage.
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Horne denied any role in the ad and condemned it himself.
Campaign finance reports show that Arizonans for Election Integrity got all of its funds from another group, Citizens for Effective Government. But there is no record in the Secretary of State's Office of any such registration.
Incumbent state schools chief Tom Horne and his challenger Kimberly Yee, the state treasurer. Both are Republicans.
On the Democratic side, Brett Newby's campaign for schools chief is pretty much self-funded with $125,000 of his own money. His latest report listed less than $19,000 in expenses, leaving him with about $109,000 cash on hand.
Teresa Ruiz, the other Democrat in the race, has reported raising nearly $283,000, with about $146,000 in the bank.
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Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on X, Bluesky and Threads at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com.
