Russell Pearce loses comeback bid

August 28, 2012

Mesa businessman Bob Worsley has defeated former State Senate President Russell Pearce in the GOP primary by a large margin. KJZZ’s Mark Brodie reports.

MARK BRODIE: Worsley says he’s not surprised by the margin of the win -- he says internal polls showed him up by as much as 15 percent against the man behind Arizona’s immigration enforcement law, SB 1070.

BOB WORSLEY: The voters in Mesa are ready for a new chapter, what I’m calling a breath of fresh air, and people are just tired of the vitriol and the symbolic legislation that we’re focused on, and we’re going to go down and work on things that are going to grow the economy.

BRODIE: The founder of Sky Mall magazine says he’ll focus on the economy in the legislature … but not exclusively.

WORSLEY: Hopefully, Mitt Romney will be elected by then, and we can work on an immigration solution that will include at the table, the federal government, instead of passing state-only enforcement.

BRODIE: Worsley will face a political newcomer in the general election … but says it’ll be difficult for a Democrat to win in a conservative district. Republicans have a more than two-to-one voter registration advantage in the Mesa district. Pearce was attempting to return to the senate, after losing a recall election last year to now-Senator Jerry Lewis.

Election results can be found on the Arizona Secretary of State's website.