Jerry Lewis, new Ariz state senator, says Pearce loss sends a message to GOP

Jerry Lewis, Arizona's state senator-elect from Mesa, told reporters on Thursday that his election victory over immigration hardliner Russell Pearce sends a "message" that many conservative Republicans do not want an enforcement-only approach to immigration.

"There is a great desire to address this issue," Lewis said, pointing to a recent poll that found that 78 percent of Arizonans favor creating a way for long-time illegal immigrants to become legal residents if they paid a fine, taxes, proved they could speak English, and had no criminal record.

Lewis, a GOP political novice and charter school administrator, said he hopes that his upset election over one of the most powerful men in Arizona politics sends a message to national politicians that "there is a desire to truly address the issue with real solutions and not just rhetorical sound bites." Pearce, the state Senate's president, led the charge last year to pass SB 1070, an anti-illegal immigration law that's been partially struck down by the federal court system. Pearce also tried to pass a bill issuing separate birth certificates to the children of illegal immigrants to deny them U.S. citizenship.

Pearce's campaign manager, meanwhile, says that Pearce was felled not by his record on immigration but because Lewis and Pearce--both white, Republican and Mormon--were so similar as candidates. Democrats voted against Pearce while Republicans were split between the two. "They knew they would split the Mormon vote and split the Republican vote," Chad Willems told the Arizona Republic.

But Utah Attorney General and Republican Mark Shurtleff told reporters on a panel organized by the National Immigration Forum that Lewis' upset win poses an important reminder for Republicans: that their entire base does not favor enforcement-only immigration measures. "Elected officials hear this loud shrill minority on this issue and they think that is the base of the Republican party," he said. "Mesa is demographically a Republican, conservative district. This is a message that conservative Republicans are stepping up and saying, 'This is not who we are as a party.' "

Regardless of whether that proves to be the message from Lewis' victory, it's clear that the GOP candidates for president aren't hearing it. The only mention of immigration at last night's debate was from Michele Bachmann (R-Minn), who called for building a fence on America's southern border. Herman Cain joked last month that the fence should be electrified, with a sign warning illegal immigrants that they would die if they tried to cross it. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, meanwhile, has fielded criticisms from Mitt Romney and other candidates for allowing young illegal immigrants to attend state colleges at in-state rates.

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