Pearce, Lewis spar over illegal immigration in 1st debate
Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce and his opponent in a recall election met in their first debate Thursday, sparring over illegal immigration and its financial impact on education and businesses.
Supreme Court refuses to stop Cortes’ hearing
The Arizona Supreme Court today refused to stop a lower court from hearing new witnesses in the lawsuit that’s seeking to disqualify recall candidate Olivia Cortes.
Presidential debate planners eyeing 3 Valley venues
Organizers of Arizona’s Dec. 1 GOP presidential debate are primarily looking at three possible venues.
The venues under consideration are the Mesa Arts Center, the Phoenix Convention Center and Gammage Auditorium, according to Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash.
Why the lawsuit against Olivia Cortes had to be aggressively defended
It’s not because the lawsuit was politically motivated. Everyone knows how unapologetically brutal politics can be. And it’s not because the lawsuit was brought to defame Ms. Cortes, either. Placing your name on a ballot is the functional equivalent of sending the world an open invitation to attack your character.
Judge: Cortes was recruited by Pearce allies, but she stays on ballot
A judge ruled today that the Mesa woman accused of being a “diversionary” candidate in the recall election targeting Senate President Russell Pearce was clearly recruited by Pearce’s supporters but that he cannot kick her off the ballot.
SOS investigates pro-Cortes signs; Mesa removes them
Republican Olivia Cortes’ admission in court yesterday that she doesn’t own the pro-Cortes campaign signs in Mesa and nobody knows who paid for them compelled the city to take them down.
The 12% solution: Russell Pearce may not be as formidable as he appears
The operative assumption of most observers of the Russell Pearce recall election has been that Pearce is the odds-on favorite to retain his seat. He hails from a heavily Mormon, conservative, Republican district and has, after all, regularly won elections handily.
Cortes testifies she’s unaware of recall campaign machinery
Republican Olivia Cortes is challenging one of the most powerful politicians in Arizona, but the political neophyte testified in court today that she doesn’t have full control over her campaign and doesn’t know who paid circulators to gather many of the signatures she needed to qualify for the ballot.
It’s quiet in LD18… too quiet
Capitol consultants and insiders are marveling at how quiet the Pearce and Lewis campaigns have been when it comes to releasing polling results.
Pearce recall election gets high court approval
The Arizona Supreme Court today quashed a challenge to the recall election targeting Senate President Russell Pearce, affirming a trial court’s earlier decision that the recall petitions are valid.
Maricopa GOP leaders helped Cortes get on ballot
Two members of the Maricopa Republican Party’s Executive Guidance committee, one of whom is an elected party officer, were among those who gathered signatures for LD18 recall candidate Olivia Cortes.
In early interview, Cortes planned to court Hispanic voters
Critics of Senate President Russell Pearce have labeled Olivia Cortes a "stealth" candidate who is aiming to divide his opposition. This month, media reports quoted a circulator Cortes supposedly hired as admitting that she is running to dilute the vote against Pearce, the state's foremost immigration hawk.
And even though she has denied that the Pearce camp had asked her to run, an early [...]