Politics in Northern New Mexico a Family Affair
Roll Call Staff
Suddenly and unexpectedly, New Mexico is gripped by political intrigue.
The fallout over the calls that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) placed to a U.S. attorney to inquire about the status of federal investigations, coupled with the presidential candidacy of Gov. Bill Richardson (D), have plunged the state’s political class into an unprecedented period of uncertainty and anticipation.
How far will Richardson’s presidential ambitions take him? Could Domenici’s and Wilson’s re-election prospects be dramatically altered as critics accuse them of tampering with federal investigations when they called then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias? Will Domenici, who will be 76 in 2008, retire? Could all three of the state’s House Members jump into the Senate race if there is a vacancy? Could Richardson, who is term-limited in 2010, decide to run for Senate if his White House bid fizzles?
“Everything could happen, or nothing,” said Joe Monahan, an Albuquerque, N.M.-based political and business consultant who has worked for both Democrats and Republicans. “It’s weird. You’re waiting to see if anything boils over.”
In a curious way, the political landscape for 2010 is a little clearer than it is for 2008. Right now, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez are preparing to compete for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Rep. Steve Pearce is the Republican mentioned most frequently when talk of the gubernatorial race surfaces.
But a lot could happen between now and then.
If Domenici retires, Pearce and Wilson could compete for the Republican Senate nomination — though the steely Wilson’s political armor may be dented by the U.S. attorney controversy. Former state Rep. John Sanchez, the GOP’s standard-bearer in the 2002 gubernatorial race, also may consider a Senate run.
On the Democratic side, a Domenici retirement could lure Chavez into the Senate race. Rep. Tom Udall (D) probably also would take a long, hard look if there is a vacancy. And don’t forget about Richardson — though he is insisting, for now, that he has no interest in a Senate bid.
Although Richardson and Udall ran against each other in a Democratic House primary in 1982, don’t expect history to repeat itself if Domenici retires. The two have become allies, and Udall’s stepdaughter, Amanda Cooper, has long been part of Richardson’s inner circle.
For New Mexico pols with statewide ambitions, there could be another tantalizing opening in 2012, when Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D) is up for a sixth term.
That’s the same year the state’s Congressional boundaries will change, and if Democrats still control all the levers of state government, as they do now, they may work to make Wilson’s Albuquerque-based district and Pearce’s district in the southern half of the state less friendly territory for the GOP.
Right now, the Democrats — after devoting huge resources to ousting Wilson in 2006, only to fall 900 votes short — are struggling to find a top-tier challenger this election cycle. National party leaders would love to convince Chavez or Denish to run. If they don’t succeed, other possibilities include Terry Brunner, Bingaman’s state director; Louis Caldera, a former University of New Mexico president who served as former President Bill Clinton’s secretary of the Army; former Albuquerque City Councilor Eric Griego; Albuquerque Councilor Martin Heinrich; and state Rep. Al Park.
Should Wilson choose not to seek re-election to the House — either because she’s in political peril or she’s running for the Senate — potential Republican candidates in the 1st district include Sanchez; state Sen. Kent Cravens; state Rep. Justine Fox-Young, who is just 28 years old; Doug Turner, a seasoned GOP political strategist; Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White; and state Rep. Teresa Zanetti, a leading social conservative.
White has endeared himself to Republicans by openly criticizing Iglesias’ unwillingness to prosecute liberal groups that attempted to register ineligible voters in New Mexico before the 2004 presidential election.
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