Jerry Lewis takes early lead over ‘King’ Russell Pearce in Recall

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It's looking hopeful, but there are still lots of votes to be counted. The Arizona Republic reports Russell Pearce trailing Jerry Lewis in recall election:

Early results indicate political newcomer Jerry Lewis has taken the lead for the Legislative District 18 recall election against Senate President Russell Pearce.

As of 8 p.m., the results from the Maricopa County Recorder's office indicate Lewis had a 53 percent to 45 percent lead over Pearce, with nearly 14,000 ballots counted.

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Supporters were cautious with their optimism, however, saying that their exit polling showed the race could be so close that it could be decided by a few hundred votes.

Voters in Arizona's first recall election of a sitting lawmaker may not know the final results until next week.

Elections officials may still need to count more than 12,000 provisional ballots.

Voters who cast provisional ballots have until 5 p.m. Monday to return to a county election office and show proper ID.

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The Mesa headquarters of Citizens for a Better Arizona, the group that led the recall campaign, was busy Tuesday with volunteers working phone banks and heading into neighborhoods.

Randy Parraz, the group's co-chairman, was confident of a Lewis victory.

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The county expects to verify the election results by Nov. 16, and the Secretary of State's Office must then certify the results, along with the governor and attorney general.

Matt Roberts, spokesman for Secretary of State Ken Bennett, said the official canvass would likely take place Nov. 21.