Last night, Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce--author of the controversial and now infamous anti-immigration bill SB 1070--became the first sitting lawmaker in Arizona history to lose his seat in a recall election, in a closely fought contest that divided Mesa, Arizona's strong LDS community between Pearce, who is Mormon, and his challenger Jerry Lewis, who is also a Mormon Republican. Lewis beat Pearce 53% to 46%.
The Mormon grapevine was abuzz with expressions of relief and excitement that the Russell Pearce era has ended.