Russell Pearce
  Party: Republican
  Age: 64
  Full candidate bio...

Final campaign spending reports from the 2010 election season revealed desperation by ultimately unsuccessful candidates who loaned their campaigns large amounts of money, as well as aggressive spending by winning candidates who likely didn’t need it.

Randy Pullen won’t seek another term as chairman of the Arizona Republican Party after a shocking loss in his re-election bid for state committeeman.

House Speaker Kirk Adams issued committee assignments Nov. 12, making Rep. Jerry Weiers chair of the powerful House Rules Committee.

Many candidates who spent big and lost big this election cycle were bound by one thread — they’re Democrats.

Indeed, Democrats in several races outraised and outspent their opponents by tens of thousands of dollars while others benefited as much by independent spending aimed at helping their campaigns.

Rep. Debbie Lesko was elected House majority whip, beating Rep. David Stevens in the House Republicans' only contested leadership race. House Speaker Kirk Adams was uncontested in his bid for a second term in charge of the House. Rep. Andy Tobin, who served as majority whip last session, was unconsted in the race for majority leader.

Sen. Al Melvin, a Republican from Tucson, was elected to a second term in Legislative District 26.

Republicans are targeting four Democratic-held seats in the 30-member Senate, a coup that would give them supermajority control for the first time in Arizona’s history.

Polling on Arizona’s statewide races has consistently shown GOP candidates on top, and Republicans are optimistic that the anti-Democratic mood sweeping the state and the country will give them total control of state government.

Only a couple of relatively competitive races stand between Republicans and their first sweep of Arizona’s six statewide offices since 1994, not including the Corporation Commission.

More voters in the state are shedding their party affiliations in favor of identifying themselves as independent, yet nonpartisan candidates are still having trouble gaining political traction.