Russell Pearce - 2011 Recall

2011 Recall

On May 31, 2011, Citizens for a Better Arizona turned in 18,315 signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office to recall Pearce. On July 8, the Arizona Secretary of State's Office officially verified that the recall petitions had sufficient signatures. On July 12, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer issued an order calling a special recall election in November. Pearce is the first state lawmaker in Arizona history to be recalled.

Mesa Republican Jerry Lewis announced he would stand against Senator Pearce. Independent Tommy Cattey also filed to become a candidate in the recall election. Pearce's supporters recruited Republican Olivia Cortes to run in the recall election to split the anti-Pearce vote. Cortes later dropped out of the race; as of October 2011, several members of Pearce's campaign effort are accused of Class 5 felonies for their role in the sham candidacy.

On November 7, 2011, the night before his recall election, Mesa voters were flooded with robo-calls from Pearce's supporters, informing them that both Pearce and his challenger Jerry Lewis were Republicans. The call then encouraged voters to protest this one-sided election by writing in their own candidate. Critics argue that this was a blatant attempt to dilute the votes of those wishing to remove Pearce from office.

On November 8, 2011, Pearce was defeated in the recall election by challenger Jerry Lewis. Among reactions: Lewis said, "We now have an opportunity to heal the divide in Mesa"; and Pearce said, "If being recalled is the prize for keeping one's promises, then so be it."

On August 28, 2012, Pearce lost his comeback bid in the Republican primary for the nomination for a state senate seat to businessman Bob Worsley, by 56 to 44 percent.