Domenici’s approval rating falls to 41 percent

U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici’s approval rating has fallen 11 points in the last month, and it’s now below the 50-percent mark for the first time.

The newest SurveyUSA poll, released today, is bad news for a GOP senator who keeps ending up on lists of endangered incumbents even though he hasn’t yet drawn a high-profile Democratic challenger. Domenici’s support is at 41 percent, down from 52 percent in August, and he’s increasingly looking vulnerable.

“The people of New Mexico are clearly unhappy that Pete Domenici is more loyal to George Bush and his failed policies than to the families of New Mexico,” state Democratic Party Chairman Brian S. Colón said in a news release. “This poll confirms that Domenici is in serious danger of losing his job when New Mexicans go to the polls next year.”

It’s also an indication that national groups that have attacked Domenici for failing to support an immediate withdrawal from Iraq and new renewable energy standards are having an effect.

The news for Domenici could get even worse. The survey of 600 adults was conducted Sept. 14-16, just before Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington listed Domenici as one of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress for his role in the U.S. attorney scandal.

The poll has a margin of error of 4.1 percent.

Domenici’s support began falling below 60 percent earlier this year as his reputation was tainted by the U.S. attorney scandal. It fell as low as 51 percent in June before climbing in July to 55 percent. It appeared at that point that the senator was on the rebound.

Then the assaults on Iraq and the environment began, and Domenici’s support fell again in August. But the 11-point dip is the biggest in any month since the U.S. attorney scandal broke.

In the newest survey, 54 percent said they disapprove of the job Domenici is doing. Disapproval was 47 percent among Anglos and 58 percent among Hispanics. It was at 66 percent among Democrats and 58 percent among independents.

Support for U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., meanwhile, fell in the newest poll to 58 percent, down three points from August.

Domenici has three lesser-known Democratic challengers thus far: Don Wiviott, Jim Hannan and Leland Lehrman. Lehrman has done little to indicate he’s running an active campaign. Hannan has been consistently running ads attacking Domenici in newspapers in Las Cruces, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Wiviott, a Santa Fe developer, has pledged $400,000 of his own money to jumpstart his campaign.

Update, Sept. 26, 7:35 a.m.

The Santa Fe New Mexican ran an article today about the poll. In it, Domenici spokesman Chris Gallegos said the poll “is so far removed from our own professional survey research it verges on ludicrous.” And state Republican Party spokesman Scott Darnell said he doesn’t believe the poll.

“We’re confident that Pete Domenici will be re-elected next year, based on his strong track record and his lifetime commitment to New Mexico,” Darnell told the newspaper.