A group of political rookies will duke it out for a seat in a key legislative district in Mesa as the East Valley stands to lose its political clout at the state Capitol next year. More than 160 candidates filed nomination petitions needed to qualify for the fall primaries before Wednesday’s 5 p.m. deadline, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

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Of those candidates, there were no incumbents in District 18, covering a large section of Mesa. Because of term limits, Republicans Rep. Russell Pearce and Rep. Mark Anderson have been forced from office, taking with them their experience and influential committee assignments.

Anderson, running for Congress against Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., had led the important House Education committee, while Pearce held what is considered one of the most important chairmanships in the Legislature — the House Appropriations Committee.

Pearce was able to use his powerful position to promote his immigration agenda and become one of the country’s most outspoken critics of illegal immigration.

Pearce filed Wednesday for the District 18 State Senate seat where he’ll oppose Kevin Gibbons, also of Mesa, in the Republican primary.

“Well, this is what happens when you have term limits,” Anderson said Wednesday afternoon. “Now, there’ll be a time when we (Mesa and the East Valley) don’t have the clout we used to have.”

As heads of the two committees, the lawmakers had a huge say over legislation relating to education as well as how state money was spent. In their absence, Republicans are running newcomers Ron Middlebrook and former small business owner Steve Court, while Democrats are entering Tammie Pursley. Because they all would be newcomers, none could chair a committee. Pursley ran unsuccessfully for the same seat two years ago.

The new face on the Mesa district could also impact illegal immigration legislation. While Middlebrook said he is in “lock-step” with Pearce, Court said he doesn’t agree with his tactics.

“As a businesses owner, I thought businesses were being asked to be the largest enforcer of federal immigration law,” he said, regarding Pearce’s employer sanctions bill that passed last year.

The East Valley will also lose other key lawmakers to term limits, threatening to weaken the region’s hold on power. In Chandler, Republican Rep. Bob Robson is leaving to run for the Arizona Corporation Commission. He is head of the Rules Committee, which must sign off on any piece of legislation moving through the House.

Another key loss is Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, running for a State Senate seat against his former political ally, Sen. Thayer Verschoor, R-Gilbert. Farnsworth had served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee

In other races, it appears that Sen. Carolyn Allen, R-Scottsdale, will run unopposed for a fourth and final term. This comes after the longtime state lawmaker had survived brutal past primary races against fellow Republicans who accused her of party disloyalty. Allen said that seems to indicate the political atmosphere in Arizona is starting to change.

“The hard-core Republican brand is not doing as well this year. The really far right, it appears to me, has really thinned out,” she said Wednesday.