The Arizona hate-monger goes down!

Most coverage of Tuesday’s night’s recall of state Senate President Russell Pearce (R) in Mesa, Arizona has focused on the fact that Russell authored the state’s controversial immigration legislation.

Pearce was defeated by Republican Jerry Lewis, a charter school executive, in a Republican primary that many may see as a referendum on a harsh immigration law similar to the one signed by Gov. Jan Brewer (R) and challenged by the Obama administration in the courts.

Immigration was a factor in his defeat — in large part because the Mormon Church decided that it should be. But an ethics scandal and under-handed campaign tactics also played a role.