Former Senate President Russell Pearce is facing a wealthy opponent in this year’s elections, but his campaign could receive a six-figure windfall from the state treasury if some Republican lawmakers have their way.

Following the historic recall of former Senate President Russell Pearce, the ousted immigration hawk’s legislative allies are striving to change the state’s recall process to make it more difficult to remove elected officials.

But the effort to add a primary election to the process has run into some obstacles.

The Arizona Supreme Court today said recall laws should be construed “liberally” because they’re written to protect the public’s right to remove an official — not for a politician’s benefit.

The Arizona Supreme Court on Monday issues an opinion explaining its ruling that cleared the way for last week’s recall election for state Sen. Russell Pearce to be held.

Last week’s recall election defeat of the Republican legislator who wrote Arizona’s tough anti-immigration law and the seating of Democratic mayors in Phoenix and Tucson have given Democrats renewed hope for picking up the state in next year’s Senate and presidential elections.

As more votes are being counted, Sen.-elect Jerry Lewis is widening his lead over former Senate President Russell Pearce.

Senate President Russell Pearce’s defeat on Nov. 8 was a colossal political victory for critics of his strict-enforcement approach to confronting illegal immigration.



And many immediately saw it as a cautionary tale for politicians here and elsewhere who share his views.

By his own account, attorney Thomas Ryan spent more than 200 hours of his time preparing and litigating a lawsuit to thwart recall candidate Olivia Cortes, whose bogus candidacy was launched with the sole intention of ruining the chances of a challenger who Ryan had never met.

The toppling of Senate President Russell Pearce will trigger a shakeup in Senate leadership that will see Republicans choosing a new president.



And depending on who replaces him, that shakeup could also mean changes in the makeup and chairmanships of committees.

Jerry Lewis gained political enemies when he took on Senate President Russell Pearce in a historic recall election on Nov. 8.



Starting next year, the political neophyte will be sharing a parking lot with some of them.



Actually, some even suggested setting up Lewis’ office just several steps from the parking lot.