Arizona Supreme Court allows recall of GOP Senate president Russell Pearce

The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the recall election of Russell Pearce, the Republican president of the state Senate, could proceed.

The recall election was challenged by a supporter of Pearce, who claimed that the recall drive did not collect enough valid voter signatures because of flawed paperwork.

Pearce has previously said he will run an aggressive campaign to defend his Senate seat.

"These are the issues that my constituents believe in and why they have voted 16 times to send me to the legislature," he said. "I have never lost an election and will fight these outside forces that support lax law enforcement, amnesty and open borders."

Pearce has proven a controversial figure in Arizona politics, he was the chief architect of Senate Bill 1070, Arizona's controversial immigration law, and came under fire in March for reading an overtly racist letter on the floor of the state Senate.

Pearce has also said that Americans are not citizens of the United States but citizens of their respective states, and has pushed for a bill that would grant Arizona the power to ignore federal laws.

Pearce will face two other Republicans, Jerry Lewis and Olivia Cortes, in the November 8 recall election.