Republicans Pick Right-Winger In Key Senate Race, Make Seat More Vulnerable To Dem Takeover
In some good news for Senate Democrats, New Mexico Republicans last night nominated the more right-wing of their two candidates for Senate, Rep. Steve Pearce, in a race for an open GOP-held seat that is a top pick-up opportunity for the Democrats.
With 99% of precincts reporting, Pearce defeated his somewhat more moderate opponent, Rep. Heather Wilson, by a 51%-49% margin. Pearce benefitted from ad campaigns by the Club For Growth, which pitched him as the true conservative in the race, while Wilson was not able to sufficiently leverage her last-minute endorsement from retiring Sen. Pete Domenici. Wilson's reputation was also damaged significantly by her involvement in the U.S. Attorney scandal.
Both Pearce and Wilson have trailed Democratic nominee Tom Udall by wide margins in the polls, but many observers thought Wilson might be able to close the gap somewhat, given her history of winning tough races in a Dem-leaning Congressional district.
Too bad the Repugs didn't pick Romney or Huckabee as their presidential nominee instead. It would have been pretty much the same effect as Pearce winning in NM.
Blue states: Dems win easy
Red states: Rep win easy
Purple states: Dems win easier
Maybe McCain will pick someone on the far-right as his running mate. That may help give the same effect.
June 4, 2008 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wilson was indeed damaged in the U.S. attorney scandal: she and Domenici called David Iglesias and pressured him to bring an indictment just before the 2006 election.
Now that may be a bigger deal to me than to the average New Mexico voter, but surely she'd be hit hard over that in the fall in any event. So she might actually be the weaker general election candidate, even if she is more moderate than Pearce.
June 4, 2008 9:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Heather had the kind of baggage she couldn't carry-on the next contest. It wasn't just the atty. scandal.
She stood next to GWB and authorized the war over and over, and in NM she ran ads like that in the last election and people didn't forget.
great news!
June 4, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Domenici endorsed Heather Wilson for his Senate seat.
She lost.
Domenici endorsed Marco Gonzales, his former chief of staff, for a congressional seat.
He lost.
Domenici's endorsement is worth a bucket of warm spit; and, good thing, too.
June 4, 2008 10:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Glad to see it!!
She always looked like she had a questionable gender preference to me -irrespective of the fact that she was married!
June 4, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Living here in NM, I can promise you that Heather Wilson would have given Udall a far closer race that Pearce. She didnt' lose to a more moderate, more acceptable statewide candidate at all. Pearce is a extreme right wing, Bush-rubber stamping Republican than Wilson--which is why he won the Primary. New Mexico's Republican party has experienced a flight of moderates, and is now mainly made up of pro-oil, anti-environmentalist, "Club for Growth" free marketeers, with a frosting of the religious right's "traditional conservative values" voters. The big money, however, is in our ranching/oil rich eastern part of the state, (which really should just become Texas) where Pearce is from.
I can't wait to wipe the floor with his goofy, gap-toothed face in the fall.
June 4, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
More far right-wing Republican candidates please.
This is going to be too easy in November.
June 4, 2008 10:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry for the formatting, this is mostly from an email I just sent this to David Kurtz at TPM:
-As you may know (but didn't mention) NM law required Wilson to give up
her house seat mid-term to run for the Senate. The same law applies to
the other contenders, who are all US congressmen, so the _entire_ NM house
delegation (3 seats) is in play due to Dominici's retirement. Of NM's 5
congress critters, only Democrat Jeff Bingaman's Senate seat is not up for
grabs. MAJOR shakeup in NM.
-Steve Pearce didn't mention the Iglacious scandal in his ads that I ever
saw. He ran mostly negative ads labeling Wilson as "too liberal" on
social issues, mostly focusing on her pro choice stance. (lots of
Catholics in NM) The whole primary seemed to be about which was more
conservative.
-MY take is that Wilson lost due to stronger Bush/Iraq Associations.
Wilson could be counted on to rubber stamp ANY economic or foreign policy
Bush agenda. Pearce isn't much better, but Wilson as a former Air Force
officer comes off as far more hawkish vis. Iraq. Wilson was far more
accessible to the Albuquerque based media, so has long been the local
cheerleader for Bush's agenda.
-Wilson has never been too solid in her house seat, winning elections more
from circumstance than design. Her initial party nomination was
uncontested, and she won her first term (Replacing ailing Steve Schiff in
a 1998 special election) with popular Schiff's endorsement, and running
against a weak opponent, Phil Maloof, known mostly for his family's long
rumored mob ties. In 2002, she won on the "support our troops" republican
popularity wave. In 2006 she ran against well known prosecutor Patricia
Madrid. Patty literally froze up at one point during their debate. (which
Wilson then used in attack ads) Running as the incumbent, and benefiting
from redistricting, AND outspending Madrid by at least 2:1 (from memory,
you should defiantly fact check that) Wilson pulled off a squeaker,
winning by a small fraction of 1% after several days of vote counting and
re-counting. The Justice Dept. scandal DID nearly cost her that election.
Madrid might have made a good Congresswoman, but was a horrible candidate.
If the dems could have come up with even a mediocre candidate for 2010,
Wilson likely would have lost her seat anyway.
-Expect Steve Pearce to lose to Democratic Congressman Tom Udall for this
Senate seat. Pierce and Wilson have been the exception to to the rule of
Democratic popularity in NM. Neither Pierce, nor Udall are Hispanic
(matters a lot in NM, unfortunately) so neither has that edge. Udall is
well known, and popular in NM, and will get Richardson's
endorsement.....AND democrats are doing well nationwide this year. Pay no
attention to party primary turnout numbers. The Democrats held a party
funded Super Tuesday caucus in Feb. so the "big race" was a done deal for
the NM dems. Expect Obama to bring them out in droves. Additionally,
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez bowed out of the Democratic nomination
race early, so Udall didn't have to fund a primary contest, nor face any
image damage from negative ads.
-Wilson's house seat might well hold up for the Republicans. This
congressional district is mostly Albuquerqe, who's economy might well
collapse were Kirtland AFB, or Sandia National Lab to close. Anyone
elected will of course support those facilities, but republicans are known
for stronger defense spending, so the locals get to ride the coat-tails of
the party's agenda.
-If Pearce is able to win the Senate GE, it will be via the Albuquerqe vote, for the above reason.
Hi to Josh, and all the rest at TPM...you folks please keep up the good
work,
Kevbo from Albuquerque
June 4, 2008 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink