It took a recall to defeat me



By RUSSELL PEARCE | 11/15/11 6:12 AM EST

I’d be lying if I said I was not extremely disappointed by being voted out in a recall election. I’m sad to go under these circumstances.

The establishment is attempting to frame my defeat as proof that voters oppose immigration control. Many are insinuating my defeat as a blow SB1070.

But the truth is – as some political observers acknowledge — I probably wouldn’t have lost the race in a normal election. In my previous race, I won with two-thirds of the vote. But given that this was a recall election, various other factors came into play.

First, there was no primary — so my political enemies saw an excellent opportunity to pose a challenge. My Republican opponent was Jerry Lewis, who stated he was opposed to SB1070, supports the DREAM Act and believes illegal aliens do the jobs that Americans won’t.

In a normal election, Lewis would have had no chance in the primary. And with a large GOP registration edge in my district, I would likely have won easily against the Democrat.

The Democrats, however, did not put up a candidate. Instead, the Democratic Party, and left-wing groups like the Service Employees International Union and Moveon.org, all supported Lewis.

In addition, looming over the campaign was a prolonged smear campaign against me for accepting (with dozens of other legislators) free college football tickets. I believe these attacks are groundless and I did nothing illegal or unethical.

The main point, however, is that this had nothing to do with my positions on illegal immigration. In fact my opponent barely discussed the issue.

Combine all these factors with the low turnout in a special election, and it is hard to see my defeat as a referendum on SB 1070.

I have always represented the interests of my constituents — not those of the political class or the establishment media. One state senate race would not be national news were it not that, for the last seven years, I have led the battle against illegal immigration on the state and local level — most notably by writing Arizona’s SB 1070.

Back in 2004 I wrote Prop 200, The Protect Arizona Now Act on the ballot, which restricted public benefits to illegal immigrants and protected against voting fraud. Despite being outspent 3-1, and with virtually every politician in the state opposing the measure, it passed overwhelmingly.

In 2006, I placed on the ballot Proposition 100, a constitutional amendment denying bail to any illegal immigrant charged with a serious felony. It passed by 78 percent. I also pressed for Proposition 103, which made English the Official Language of Arizona. It passed by 73 percent.

In 2007, I introduced the Legal Arizona Workers Act, requiring all state employers to use E-Verify, to ensure they don’t hire illegal immigrants. If any “knowinglyâ€