Arizona GOP Official Resigns After Controversial Comments

Former Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce resigned as first vice chairman of the state Republican Party Sunday after controversial comments about Medicaid and contraception were widely criticized by people in both parties.

In a statement, Pearce said he was stepping down to avoid being a distraction from Republican candidates this fall.

"Recently on my radio show there was a discussion about the abuses to our welfare system," he said. "I shared comments written by someone else and failed to attribute them to the author. This was a mistake. This mistake has been taken by the media and the left and used to hurt our Republican candidates."

He added, "I do not want the progressive left and the media to try and take a misstatement from my show and use it to attack our candidates. I care about the Republican party and its conservative platform too much to let them do that. Yet I have to recognize that hosting a radio show and the nature of the debates that we have had and will continue to have are incompatible...