Image Source: The Huffington Post


 

You're watching multi-source political analysis from Newsy. 

BY AUSTIN FAX
 

On Tuesday, voters had a message for one of the most powerful faces in Arizona politics. Start looking for employment elsewhere-- your services are no longer needed.

KCPQ tells us about the controversial bill authored by Russell Pearce that had him in the hot seat... and now in no seat...in Arizona’s state Senate.
 

“Pearce’s legislation was passed into law in 2010. It allowed police to check the immigration status of any suspects believed to be undocumented. A federal circuit court has ruled that the law overstepped the state’s authority.”




Pearce conceded the race to Republican challenger Jerry Lewis after polls showed Lewis led by seven percentage points. The Huffington Post’s Jeff Biggers says Arizona’s first ever recall election dealt the Tea Party a, quote, ‘stunning blow’ on immigration policy.
 

“Pearce's national role as the figurehead for punitive immigration measures turned the recall election into a referendum on the state's notorious immigration law, [His] downfall marks an extraordinary sea change in Arizona politics, especially in the areas of the changing electoral demographics and immigration reform policies. “


 

A blogger for Yahoo! thinks voters weren’t happy with Pearce’s stance on immigration-- but they had more than one bone to pick with the contentious senator.
 

“The hard fought and at times dirty campaign that followed mostly focused on other issues. Attacks against Pearce largely avoided his record on immigration. [Ads] hit Pearce over accusations that he accepted free tickets to the Fiesta Bowl, cut education funding, and--perhaps most damaging—enticed a "sham" Latina candidate to run against him and split the anti-Pearce vote.”




But The Arizona Republic’s Laurie Roberts reminds us Pearce lost to another Republican-- in a state with a Republican majority. She says it was Pearce’s supporters that eventually led to his downfall.

“Has any politician ever surrounded himself with a bigger contingent of incompetents and nincompoops? Pearce's pals became Jerry Lewis' biggest asset.”