A political newcomer with a lot of money has decided to challenge U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici next year.
Santa Fe developer and Democrat Don Wiviott has been considering the race for a couple of months, but told Joe Monahan on Wednesday that he’s officially running and will start the campaign with $400,000 of his own money. He’s willing to spend up to $1 million, if necessary, he told Monahan.
Wiviott joins two other Democrats who have entered the race against the state’s GOP senator – Jim Hannan of
Neither has as much money as Wiviott, but both have been active – Lehrman through the online newsletter he publishes and Hannan through advertisements in newspapers in
But Wiviott has the money and, as Monahan reported, is already putting together a campaign organization that will make him the frontrunner for the party’s nomination.
Wiviott’s announcement comes as Domenici’s approval rating in the newest SurveyUSA poll is 51 percent and the Washington Post ranks his seat as the tenth most likely to change hands in 2008.
Wiviott isn’t without weaknesses. In addition to being a political newcomer, at least one campaign contribution from his past raises questions he’ll have to address. According to OpenSecrets.org, he gave $2,100 in late 2005 to one of Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s 2006 GOP opponents, David Pfeffer. It was the first gift he’d given to any federal candidate, according to the site, since 2002, and his other contributions all went to Democrats.
Pfeffer was a Democrat when he was on the Santa Fe City Council, but supported President Bush in 2004 and switched parties in 2005.
A Democrat who financially supported an opponent of Bingaman, who ended up receiving 71 percent of the vote, is going to have to explain why.