Jerry Lewis, the Republican who rose to fame by defeating Russell Pearce two years ago, lost his Senate seat in 2012 partly because his crossover appeal to Latinos did not translate into votes for him, an analysis of the results of the November elections showed.

The letter “Pierce used Victory Fund in failed effort to retain presidency” by political consultant Constantin Querard published in the Jan. 25 edition of the Arizona Capitol Times was both sadly misinformed and bemusing.

While the mood at the state Capitol this past year might be best described as riotous, 2012 — the Chinese Year of the Dragon — was marked with fewer gaffes, catfights and over-the-top name calling among Arizona’s political elite.

This year's most outstanding quips, gibes and utterances.

When the year is over, departing Sen. Jerry Lewis, a Republican from Mesa, will have served half a term, a fraction of a senator’s typical length of stay at the state Capitol.

Politicians who leave office, whether it’s by losing an election or reaching a term limit, have unfinished business.

The wave that carried a Republican supermajority into the Legislature two years ran into a seawall tonight, when the G.O.P. appeared to have lost four seats in the Senate, thereby giving up the power to override a gubernatorial veto.

Voters’ love affair with Sen. Jerry Lewis, the Mesa Republican who unseated Russell Pearce last year, ended tonight. Despite a strong push to the finish, Lewis lost his race to his Democratic opponent, Rep. Ed Ableser of Tempe, the initial vote tally tonight showed.

The local chapter of Planned Parenthood is firing back through its political action arm after being on the defensive during the last few years.

A well-funded independent expenditure group launched what is likely to be the first of numerous attacks targeting three Democratic candidates in hotly-contested state Senate races.