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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.
Pearce, challengers to debate next month in Mesa
State Senate President Russell Pearce and Republican challenger Jerry Lewis will debate Oct. 6 at a public forum presented by the Mesa Chamber of Commerce.
Pearce echoes racism allegations about Cortes suit
Pearce today responded to the lawsuit to remove Cortes from the ballot. “Somebody needs to call Gloria Alred. A Hispanic woman doesn’t have a right to run? Does Jerry Lewis think this race is only for white, male Mormons? Pretty shameful, in my opinion,” he told our reporter.
Senate restricts media access in Bundgaard hearings
The Senate today placed new restrictions on reporters who plan to cover the ethics inquiry involving Sen. Scott Bundgaard.
Bundgaard attorney wants three in ethics committee disqualified
An attorney for state Sen. Scott Bundgaard demanded Monday that three of five Senate Ethics Committee members be disqualified from hearing a complaint against the lawmaker involving a February domestic violence incident.
Lewis targets Pearce on immigration in first video
In his first campaign video, Mesa Republican Jerry Lewis sharpened his political position over how his approach to illegal immigration would differ from Senate President Russell Pearce’s.
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.
County GOP officials rally to get Pearce ‘opponent’ on ballot
An executive officer of the Maricopa County Republican Party and longtime supporter of Senate President Russell Pearce said she was part of a coordinated effort to help a woman she’s never met qualify as a candidate for the Nov. 8 special recall election against Pearce.
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 [...]
Small-business leader: Arizona needs law giving state contract preference to local firms
Dollars spent with local businesses have a far greater impact on Arizona’s economy, tax revenues and jobs, and that applies even when state government puts out contracts for bid, the head of a small-business group said Friday.
No dog days of summer for politics this year
In 2011 politics, there were no dog days of summer. In fact, there was hardly time for us political reporters to catch our breath, as the stories seemed to multiply every week.
