Steve Smith has comfortable lead in House Dist. 11

Steve Smith of Maricopa was the top vote-getter Tuesday night in the state House District 11 race with two precincts left to tally in Pima County.

Smith, a Republican, led with 35,737, or 36.8 percent of the vote, fellow Republican Adam Kwasman was second with 33,378, or 34.4 percent, and Democrat Dave Joseph was third with 27,801, or 28.6 percent with 55 of 66 precincts reporting.

The top two vote-getters in each district win two-year terms.

Smith said he thought his message was well received.

“Voters know me, and they know what I stand for,’’ he said.

Smith built a reputation as a hard-liner on immigration issues.

As a first-term senator for District 23, Smith introduced SB 1406, a bill that proposed a border fence built by prisoners and funded through a website.

The bill was signed by Gov. Jan Brewer.

Smith said he hoped voters would keep strong majorities for the GOP in both houses of the Legislature.

“We’ve had some races come through like we thought they would,’’ he said. “But we have some who are hanging on. It’s going to be an interesting night.”

During the campaign for the House, Smith said he would focus on other aspects of illegal immigration, which he said is “so much more than fences or officers and anything you can physically do to secure the border.”

Smith said he is working on a bill to pay teachers based on performance and district-based standards.