Chávez secures big-name support, raises $560K

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is lining up some prominent supporters despite unease among some Democrats about his campaign.

In the wake of attempts by some to find another top-tier Democrat to enter the race, Chávez has put together a strong team. His campaign will be run by Mark Fleisher, a top operative among state Democrats. Nationally-known firms will handle media, fundraising, polling and other issues.

He also said today, during an interview in Las Cruces, that those who have signed on to his campaign include Ed Romero, the former ambassador to Spain and a close friend of Gov. Bill Richardson, and Jamie Koch and Johnny Cope, giants in the state Democratic Party who are close to Richardson and involved with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

“It’s a presidential-caliber team – what you need to run a national campaign,” Chávez said.

He was in Las Cruces to meet with supporters and community leaders as he attempts to build momentum for his Senate campaign.

Koch is the finance co-chair of Denish’s 2010 campaign and a former business partner of her late father, Roll Call reported today. The Washington publication also reported that Chávez has secured $560,000 in financial pledges for his senatorial campaign in less than a month.

Thus far, Chávez is the only top-tier Democrat who has jumped into the race. U.S. Rep. Tom Udall has announced he won’t run for the Senate seat. Denish is considering the race but hasn’t announced a decision, and a spokesman said today he has nothing new to report. Three lesser-known Democrats, Don Wiviott, Jim Hannan and Leland Lehrman, are running.

The progressive problem

Securing big-name supporters and financial contributions is an important step for Chávez’s senatorial campaign, but he has another problem to overcome: Progressive Democrats, at least those in the Albuquerque area, aren’t his biggest supporters.

That’s an understatement. After candidates and referenda backed by Chávez, or at least his staffers, were defeated in the recent Albuquerque municipal election, the unique coalition of Republicans and progressive Democrats who made it happen literally celebrated together.

Chávez prides himself on being a moderate Democrat who is pro-business and conservative on crime, but said his record is also one progressives should back.

“I think I get a bad rap from progressives,” he said.

Chávez said he doesn’t “take much” from the results of the city election because turnout was only 9 percent. And he said he has led Albuquerque to become a leader on climate-change issues. He said he has fought for light rail in Albuquerque – a battle he lost – and helped preserve a great deal of open space.

“I have legitimate progressive credentials, but I am pro-business,” Chávez said, adding he believes the two can go together.

That mix, Chávez said, is what makes him the best candidate in the race.

“I feel very strongly that this is going to be a Democratic pickup and I’m going to be that Democrat, because I’m a moderate Democrat,” Chávez said. “I think the Republicans are more afraid of me than some others.”

Looking for other candidates

Many Democrats aren’t so certain. A recent SurveyUSA poll, conducted for KOB-TV in Albuquerque, found Pearce beating Chávez by 21 points, while Wilson beat Chávez by four points. That, coupled with Chávez’s unpopularity among some progressives, has many in New Mexico and Washington looking for another candidate.

Washington Democrats are pushing Denish hard, and they also want Udall to reconsider. Two grassroots efforts have formed to push Udall to run. If neither gets in, many progressives will take a hard look at Wiviott before they decide whether to support the Duke City mayor.

Chávez said he isn’t worried. Denish has already raised more than $1 million for a 2010 gubernatorial run, and with Chávez abandoning his gubernatorial bid to instead run for Senate, he said it wouldn’t make sense for her to enter the race. He said he is “not concerned” even if she does enter the race.

He also said he is confident he would defeat Udall in a primary.

“Philosophically, he’s so far to the left,” Chávez said. “I’d rather not have him in the race, but that’s a challenge I’d not shy away from.”

He also said he isn’t concerned about U.S. Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce, the two Republicans who are running. He said Wilson “is in trouble” because she’s damaged from the 2006 election and the U.S. attorney scandal, and Pearce – who he called the likely winner of the GOP primary – “is way outside the mainstream.”

Asked about the KOB-TV poll, Chávez said he doesn’t doubt its results. He said his internal polling had him up 41-40 in a potential Senate match-up with Wilson, which is five points different from the KOB-TV poll, not significant considering the margin of error of both polls. He said his polling didn’t consider Pearce, who wasn’t in the race when the poll was conducted, but he’s certain that, as the campaign progresses, his support will grow and his moderate credentials and hard work will propel him to victory.

The Richardson question

During the interview, Chávez said nothing about what he would do if Richardson gets in the race, though he doesn’t believe that will happen.

Richardson has said repeatedly he won’t run for Senate even if he loses the presidential race. The reality, however, is that Richardson will likely know by Feb. 5 – the day a number of large states hold their nominating contests – whether his presidential run is over. He would have a week to decide whether to run for Senate and gather the signatures to get his name on the ballot, and many suspect he might do that.

“He told me he isn’t running,” Chávez said of Richardson, adding that the governor encouraged him to run. “I have to take him at his word.”

Chávez said becoming the junior senator from New Mexico would be a “step down” for Richardson – especially if he has an opportunity to be secretary of state or hold another prominent position in Washington.

“I think Bill’s outgrown that. I think it would drive him nuts,” Chávez said. “So I don’t know. But we’ll see.”