Democratic longshot hopes immigration prompts higher voter turnout

Posted: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 4:21 pm

Dan Zeiger, Tribune | 4 comments

The presumptive Democratic nominee for the State Senate in District 18 has long odds in November, but professional dog trainer Andrew Sherwood insists he is no sacrificial lamb.

Sherwood's general-election opponent in the heavily-Republican district is incumbent Russell Pearce, who has received national attention for a crusade against illegal immigration. However, Sherwood, 29, feels that Pearce's profile will aid, not hinder, his own candidacy.

"In this election, we're hoping that with the immigration issue, there will be a lot more voter interest in this race," Sherwood said. "In local races, it's always hard to get people motivated, but we hope this race will be special because of the name recognition."

Unofficial results posted by the Maricopa County Recorder's Office indicate a 29-vote victory, 2,074 to 2,045, for Sherwood against Robert McDonald in the Democratic primary.

The county's elections report has been forwarded to the Arizona Secretary of State's office. The canvass of elections is scheduled for Friday, at which time the results become official.

By Arizona law, an automatic recount is triggered in Legislative elections if the margin is the lesser of two numbers: 50 votes or fewer, or less than one-tenth of 1 percent of all votes cast. The latter figure in the District 18 primary is 4.19, not enough to force a recount.

McDonald was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.

"Our campaign was extended congratulations from the Arizona Democratic Party, so we are moving forward," Sherwood said. "We're looking forward to it. We're going to see if we can't beat Pearce the old-fashioned way, by getting more votes."

Sherwood figures to need every vote against Pearce, who served four terms in the House before running for the district's Senate seat in 2008, winning by more than 5,000 ballots.

Pearce is the co-author of SB 1070, the Arizona immigration law. The toughest parts of the legislation were blocked by a federal judge's temporary injunction in July, the start of a long legal slog.

"When I was collecting signatures to get on the ballot, I would ask people what interests them," Sherwood said. "Not surprisingly, given the current climate, people talked about immigration. But then I asked, ‘What would make your life better?' Not once was I told something related to immigration.

"It was always about economic stability or a better education for their kids. I call those Main Street values. That's what I want to tell voters I'm about."

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