Podcast 97: Matthew Continetti on the Evolution of the Right

Episode Introduction

Matthew Continetti joined Sam Stone and Chuck Warren in 2022, shortly after publishing The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism. He’s one of the leading historians of the American conservative movement and the founding editor of The Washington Free Beacon. The book traces the conservative movement from the 1920s to the present, and the conversation focuses on how the right got where it is.

Later in the episode, the hosts check in with Tom Horne, then the Republican candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. Horne won that race in November 2022.

Quick Answer

In Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 97, recorded in 2022, Matthew Continetti discussed his book The Right, a history of American conservatism from the Progressive Era to the present. Tom Horne, then running for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, also joined. Horne won in 2022 but lost the 2026 Republican primary to Kimberly Yee.

Episode Overview

The episode has two segments:

Matthew Continetti on The Right. The book was published April 19, 2022 by Basic Books. It covers a century of conservative history and argues that populism has always been part of the American right.
Tom Horne on the 2022 superintendent race. Horne was campaigning to return to the office he held from 2003 to 2011.

About the Book: The Right

Continetti’s book frames American conservatism as a long contest between two broad camps, populist and elitist, which sometimes fight and sometimes cooperate. It describes Ronald Reagan’s era as the high point of “Cold War conservatism.” It also argues that the Iraq War ended the dominance of post-Cold War conservatives in the Republican Party, much as Vietnam ended Cold War liberalism’s hold on the Democrats.

The Wall Street Journal named it one of the best politics books of 2022. A later edition added a new epilogue.

About Matthew Continetti

Matthew Continetti is director of domestic policy studies and the inaugural Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute. AEI named him director in August 2023. He writes an opinion column for The Wall Street Journal and appears regularly on PBS NewsHour’s “Capehart and Continetti.”

Continetti was the founding editor and editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon and earlier served as opinion editor at The Weekly Standard. He wrote The Persecution of Sarah Palin (2009) and The K Street Gang (2006), in addition to The Right. He holds a B.A. in history from Columbia University.

About Tom Horne

Tom Horne is Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. He first held the office from 2003 to 2011, then won it back in 2022 by defeating Democratic incumbent Kathy Hoffman. He served as Arizona attorney general after winning that race in 2010. Earlier in his career, he served on the Paradise Valley school board and in the Arizona Legislature.

As superintendent, Horne pushed policies that discouraged bilingual education and led efforts to shut down Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican American Studies program. He drafted the 2010 state law used to end the program. In 2017, a federal judge ruled that law unconstitutional, found it was motivated by racial animus, and permanently barred the state from enforcing it. Horne defended the law and maintained that the program was run by radical teachers.

Horne has also appeared on Breaking Battlegrounds to discuss the state of public education with Luke Rosiak. See his guest profile.

What Happened Next

Horne’s races:

2022 general election: Horne won the superintendent race in November 2022 with 50.13% of the vote.
2026 Republican primary: On July 21, 2026, state Treasurer Kimberly Yee defeated him. Yee ran with backing from the Legislature’s Freedom Caucus and argued Horne was too aggressive in regulating Arizona’s school voucher program. Horne said he was only cracking down on purchases unrelated to education.
2026 general election: Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz held an early lead over Yee on election night, November 3, 2026. (Update this line once the result is official.)

Continetti’s role: He has remained one of the most cited analysts of the right. AEI promoted him to direct its domestic policy studies program in 2023.

Key Topics Discussed

The history of American conservatism from the 1920s to the present
Populist and elitist strands within the right
The future of the Republican Party
Arizona’s 2022 race for Superintendent of Public Instruction

Related Breaking Battlegrounds Episodes

On the GOP’s direction:
On Reagan’s legacy: William Inboden on Reagan’s legacy
On Arizona education:
- Tom Horne and Luke Rosiak on public education
- Arizona’s ESA fight

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Matthew Continetti’s book The Right about?

The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism (Basic Books, 2022) is a history of American conservatism from the Progressive Era to the present. Continetti argues the movement has long been split between populist and elitist camps and that populism has always been part of the right. The Wall Street Journal named it one of 2022’s best politics books.

What is Matthew Continetti’s current role?

Continetti is director of domestic policy studies and the Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute. He also writes an opinion column for The Wall Street Journal. He was the founding editor of The Washington Free Beacon.

Did Tom Horne win the 2022 Arizona superintendent race?

Yes. Horne defeated Democratic incumbent Kathy Hoffman in November 2022 with about 50.1% of the vote and returned to the office he previously held from 2003 to 2011. In July 2026, he lost the Republican primary for reelection to Kimberly Yee.

What happened to Tucson’s Mexican American Studies program?

As superintendent, Tom Horne led efforts against Tucson Unified’s Mexican American Studies program, and a 2010 state law was used to end it. In 2017, federal judge A. Wallace Tashima ruled the law unconstitutional, finding it was motivated by racial animus, and permanently blocked the state from enforcing it.

Conclusion

This 2022 episode paired a historian of the conservative movement with an Arizona Republican trying to win back his old office. Continetti’s book has become a standard reference on the right’s history. Horne won his race that year, then lost his own party’s primary four years later in a fight over Arizona’s voucher program, which shows how quickly the internal divisions Continetti describes can play out.

Sources

Editorial Note: This article is intended for informational and analytical purposes. Political developments, policies, polling, and public statements can change over time. Readers should consult primary sources and official government information for the latest details.