WhoRunsTheStates Badge.png
Who Runs Your State Government?
Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.






Recall campaigns in Arizona

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Recall
New recall logo.PNG
Historical recalls
Recall news
Recall laws

Legend:

Approveda = The recall target was recalled by voters.

Defeatedd = When a recall vote was held, voters rejected the attempt to recall the politician (that is, voters decided to keep/retain the targeted politician).

Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot = The recall effort did not collect enough signatures to force a recall vote.

Portal:Recall = The targeted politician resigned after a recall campaign was begun, and before the vote on the recall would have taken place.

Balance48.png = A judge prevented the recall from going forward.

Dates.png = A recall election is scheduled.

[edit]


Ballotpedia's 2012 Recall Analysis

State Targeted officials Recalled Retained Resigned
Arkansas 9 2 4 0
Alaska 8 1 0 0
Arizona 19 6 4 2
California 87 11 4 6
Colorado 16 2 6 2
District of Columbia 3 1 0 0
Florida 1 0 0 0
Georgia 3 0 0 0
Idaho 10 2 0 0
Kansas 10 5 4 0
Louisiana 6 0 0 1
Maine 3 3 0 0
Massachusetts 7 4 0 0
Michigan 79 5 13 3
Minnesota 1 0 0 0
Missouri 4 0 0 0
Montana 4 1 0 2
Nebraska 9 1 2 0
Nevada 1 0 1 0
New Jersey 12 0 0 0
New Mexico 7 0 0 1
North Dakota 3 2 1 0
Ohio 1 0 0 0
Oklahoma 3 1 0 1
Oregon 24 3 8 4
Rhode Island 1 0 0 0
Tennessee 2 0 0 0
Texas 17 1 1 0
Washington 7 2 0 1
West Virginia 1 0 0 0
Wisconsin 12 3 4 1
Total 370 54 54 24

Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce successfully recalled from office

By: Greg Janetka

Russell Pearce is the first Arizona state legislator to be recalled

MESA, Arizona: According to unofficial election results, Republican Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce has become the first state legislator in Arizona history to be recalled. Challenger Jerry Lewis, who is also a Republican, took 53.2 percent of the vote to Pearce’s 45.25 percent.[1] With Pearce conceding, he has become the third state legislator to be recalled in 2011, joining the two Republican Wisconsin state senators voters recalled last August.[2]

In claiming victory, Lewis stated, "Our opponent was the most powerful politician in Arizona and one who had deep pocketed and powerful interests from outside our district backing him, as well as the entire muscle from our state Republican Party."[3]

Recall of Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce, 2011
Candidate Vote % Votes
Russell Pearce Incumbent 43.5% 10,121
Green check mark.jpgJerry Lewis 55.1% 12,812
Olivia Cortes (withdrawn) 1.2% 277
Write-In Candidate 0.2% 57
Total Votes 23,267

While not explicitly stated in the recall petition, the campaign was seen as a vote on immigration policies. In the only debate of the campaign, Lewis and Pearce agreed on all major issues, with the exception of immigration. Pearce gained notoriety with his tough stance on illegal immigration as the architect of SB 1070, while Lewis stressed a more cohesive immigration reform plan, arguing SB 1070 has resulted in a bad state image.[4]

From the beginning the recall election was plagued with controversy, notably the candidacy of registered independent Olivia Cortes. After much speculation, pro-Pearce factions were found to have recruited Cortes to run in an effort to split the anti-Pearce vote, but amid a court case and scandal, Cortes dropped out of the race on October 6. To this day Cortes says she has no idea who paid for her petitions and is under investigation for possible campaign finance violations.[5]

Lewis will be sworn in to the District 18 seat once the results are certified by the Secretary of State, which is expected to occur by November 21.[6]

One other recall remains pending tonight. The vote to recall Michigan state Representative Paul Scott (R) has been extremely close all night. Unlike Pearce, Scott does not face a recall election, but rather a Yes or No vote to remove him from office.

Update: Rep. Paul Scott conceded defeat at 11:35 p.m. Eastern time
  1. ↑ Huffington Post, “Arizona Topple Senate President Russell Pearce, SB 1070 Immigration Law Architect, in Historic Recall Vote,” November 8, 2011
  2. ↑ Phoenix Business Journal, “Russell Pearce loses recall bid; Stanton elected Phoenix Mayor,” November 8, 2011
  3. ↑ KPHO, "Russell Pearce ousted in historic recall election," November 8, 2011
  4. ↑ Tucson Citizen, "Pearce, Lewis mainly split on immigration enforcement," October 7, 2011
  5. ↑ AZ Central, "Olivia Cortes to be investigated for campaign-finance law violations," October 29, 2011
  6. ↑ BusinessWeek, “Arizona Immigration Law Author Pearce Loses in Recall Election,” November 8, 2011

See also


Retrieved from "http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Recall_campaigns_in_Arizona&oldid=1779070"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Encyclopedia
Calendars
Get Involved
Donate
Toolbox