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Recent Articles from Luige del Puerto
A Pearce defeat means shake up in Senate
If Senate President Russell Pearce loses his race tomorrow, it will trigger a shakeup in Senate leadership that will see Republicans choosing a new president.
By all accounts, three senators are interested in the position — Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs, Senate Majority Whip Steve Pierce, and Sen. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler.
Lewis camp: Robo-calls are ‘dirty trick’ by Pearce ally
A group headed by a close supporter of Senate President Russell Pearce launched a last-minute auto-dial phone call campaign to Mesa voters over the weekend urging them to “write-in” their own candidates on Tuesday, which some say is a not-so-subtle attempt to dissuade Hispanic voters from either showing up on Election Day or voting for challenger Jerry Lewis.
Lewis, Pearce making final push ahead of Tuesday’s vote
With all indications pointing to an extremely tight race, Senate President Russell Pearce and fellow Republican Jerry Lewis, who are squaring off in an unprecedented recall election, are making final pushes for votes.
Early ballots point to high interest in Pearce recall
Voters who requested early ballots have been mailing them back to election officials at a healthy clip.
As of Nov. 2 — six days before the recall election targeting Senate President Russell Pearce — the ballots’ return rate is on pace to pass the 50 percent mark.
Poll: Lewis, Pearce neck-and-neck in recall contest
With only a few days left until voters head to the ballot box to decide the fate of Senate President Russell Pearce, a poll commissioned by the Arizona Capitol Times and ABC15 News shows the race is a dead heat.
Mesa Republican Jerry Lewis, who is seeking to unseat Pearce in the Nov. 8 recall election, is holding his own among fellow GOP voters, despite being heavily outspent b[...]
Business interests, Brewer push for implementation of health care exchange
Arizona’s policymakers clashed with members of the business community and insurance industry Nov. 2 over whether to implement a key component of the federal health care overhaul. Under the federal law, states have the option to run their own health insurance exchange, which will ultimately be a web portal where individuals and businesses can buy insurance. If states choose not to implement th[...]
Gallardo: DOJ requested documents on IRC
Sen. Steve Gallardo, who has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in Arizona’s redistricting fight in order to protect the rights of minority voters, said the federal agency has asked him for more documents.
Lawyer says Cortes OK in campaign filings; SOS says law broken
Republican Olivia Cortes, who could face a civil fine for failing to report contributions to her campaign, insists that the paid effort to gather signatures on her behalf was uncoordinated with her campaign.
Pro-recall group’s campaign report provides plenty of ammo for Pearce
The group that spearheaded the effort to oust Senate President Russell Pearce in a recall election raised $141,000. The contributions included services worth about $44,000 from a lawyer who successfully defended the recall petition. But the campaign finance report submitted by Citizens for a Better Arizona also provides plenty of fodder for Pearce and his allies who have accused the group of[...]
Pearce’s $230K smashes challengers’ modest fundraising
Senate President Russell Pearce collected an impressive $230,000 in contributions in his fight to keep his legislative seat. His spending alone dwarfed his challenger’s modest fundraising total. Pearce also had... […]
Cortes’ campaign report poses legal questions
Olivia Cortes’ campaign finance report only deepened a mystery about her short-lived campaign in the Mesa recall election as it failed to resolve serious questions about who helped finance her campaign. Cortes raised roughly $900, but her campaign report filed Thursday didn’t say who paid a signature-gathering firm that circulated petitions, which ultimately helped to get her on the ballot.
Independent groups spend $70K in recall election
The recall targeting Senate President Russell Pearce has riveted the state and attracted nationwide interest — and it’s also quickly turning out to be an expensive race.
But it is not breaking any records — at least not yet.
