A second mailer attacking Russell Pearce's character has been sent to Mesa voters by an independent committee headed by the former director of the Arizona Republican Party in an effort to dissuade voters from electing the architect of the state's groundbreaking employer sanctions law to the state Senate.

The two hit pieces are likely not to be the last delivered to District 18 voters before the Sept. 2 primary election, as Nathan Sproul, chairman of the Mesa Deserves Better independent expenditure committee, has promised "a robust effort" to convince voters Pearce is not fit to serve in the Legislature.

The most recent mailer highlights Pearce's ties to racists and neo-Nazis, specifically J.T. Ready, a Republican activist in the west Mesa legislative district who regularly posts essays on New Saxon, which describes itself as "a Social Networking site for people of European descent" where people can discuss, among other things, "defending the rights of white people…and (the) promotion of white separation."

The mailer declares, "You wouldn't associate with neo-Nazis, but Russell Pearce does," directly above a photo of Pearce and Ready taken at an anti-illegal-immigration rally at the state Capitol in June 2007 that was hosted by the White Knights of America, a white-supremacist organization with chapters in Arizona and Texas.

The mailer also references an e-mail Pearce sent to campaign supporters in 2006 that included a reprint of an article from the Web site of the National Alliance, a white-supremacist group.

A quote from former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth, one of Congress's most vocal critics of the federal government's immigration policies, withdrawing his endorsement of Pearce in the last election because of that e-mail is also reprinted.

The group's first mailer, which was delivered to Mesa voters Aug. 6, featured an excerpt from a 1980 petition for divorce filed by Pearce's wife, LuAnne, in which she accused the lawmaker – who at the time was Maricopa County Sheriff's deputy – of having a violent temper and of being abusive. The document stated that Pearce had "grabbed the wife by the throat and threw her down" just days before it was filed.

In a statement last week, LuAnne denied Pearce had ever abused her and said the attacks were because of Pearce's role in creating the employer sanctions law.

"I urge everyone to reject these mean spirited people and all who are affiliated with them. It is apparent that they will go to any length and use any measure to further their own political agenda. My husband is a good man, a man of faith who taught our children and grandchildren the meaning of honor and duty to God, family and country. I hope all voters in District 18 join me in supporting my husband for state Senate and rejecting these misleading and false attacks," she wrote.

Pearce did not respond to messages seeking comment, but his campaign manager said the attacks were a desperate move by supporters of Pearce's Republican opponent, Kevin Gibbons.

"The mere fact that they're doing this means they know Gibbons is in trouble," said political consultant Doug Cole, adding the first mailer was "deceptive as hell" for not telling voters the allegations were 28 years old.

But Sproul said the age of the allegations is immaterial and voters still need to know about them to make an informed decision about the candidates in the Senate race.

"We believe that voters have the right to know (about) something of that serious of a nature," he said. "If somebody has committed the act of domestic violence against his wife, he is not fit to serve in the Legislature. I think Russell Pearce should resign from the Legislature and not run for office."