Wiviott says thirst for change will boost his campaign

Though a recent poll had Don Wiviott far behind GOP U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson in potential Senate match-ups, Wiviott said the poll’s results were encouraging.

Wiviott, a Democrat and political newcomer who is vying for the seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., pointed out that he has little statewide name recognition and has done almost no advertising to this point.

Considering that, “I thought we did amazing well, actually,” Wiviott said Friday during an interview in Las Cruces.

The SurveyUSA poll, conducted for KOB-TV in Albuquerque, had Wiviott with 23-percent support to Pearce’s 58 percent – a 35-point difference – and 34-percent support to Wilson’s 51 percent – a 17-point difference.

By comparison, the poll found Pearce beating Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez, who is also running for Senate, by 21 points, while Wilson beat him by four points. And Pearce beat former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, who has decided against running for Senate, by 16 points, while Wilson beat her by one point.

Wiviott has been traveling the state to spread the word about his underdog candidacy for U.S. Senate. He was one of three lesser-known Democrats who entered the race before Domenici announced earlier this month that he won’t seek re-election next year. Since that time, political heavyweights Chávez, Pearce and Wilson have all entered the race, and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is considering it.

Wiviott said he isn’t deterred.

“Anything is better than facing a 35-year incumbent, and I was willing to do that,” Wiviott said. “I’m still the same candidate. We jumped in early because of the issues. We need change.”

An in-person conversation with the animated Wiviott reveals that he isn’t a typical candidate. He speaks with more enthusiasm than most politicians. He has a wide grin that spreads across his face frequently. His hand gestures are pronounced. He thinks out loud about how to answer questions.

Wiviott’s demeanor fits well with his campaign’s message that people are fed up with politics and looking for change.

“People are very frustrated with career politicians and how their government has been managed,” he said. “We’re losing ground every day, and we need to make some change.”

A different candidate

Wiviott is often identified as a Santa Fe developer in the media, but he said “green builder” is more accurate. One of his projects, The Lofts, was constructed with more environmentally friendly materials than a typical development, and it’s more energy efficient. It was built as an infill project that took the place of a gravel pit. Its plumbing is more water-efficient. It’s also built with natural lighting and other appealing features in mind.

Wiviott said his business experience would help him stay connected with constituents. He said he understand frustration with taxes. Another common problem with Congress is that it enacts policy without considering how it will be implemented, and Wiviott said that’s because many members of Congress don’t have the ability to adequately consider such impact.

“There’s this huge disconnect,” Wiviott said. “It’s hard to live in one place and serve another.”

How do you overcome that? Wiviott said he has an advantage because he’s a political outsider. He also said he would “stay close to the district” and in touch with constituents to ensure he doesn’t forget where he came from.

Perhaps in part because of his profession, Wiviott wants to push for increased use of renewable energy. He said New Mexico, with its laboratories, can lead the way in clean-energy development.

He’s also a proponent of ending the Iraq war, and said the current situation is “what happens when the White House runs the war.”

But Wiviott isn’t the typical progressive Democrat who wants all American troops out of Iraq. He said he favors leaving a coalition force, which could include American soldiers but also must include troops from other nations in the Middle East, in Iraq to protect the Kurds in the north and oil fields in the south.

‘The real people and Don Wiviott’

Wiviott began his campaign with $400,000 of his own money, and he’s pledged that his campaign will spend $2.1 million on a primary, regardless of whether he can raise the rest or has to finance it himself.

He raised about $130,000 in the third quarter of the year, more than $60,000 of it through the Democratic fundraising Web site ActBlue. Wiviott said that’s a show of the Internet, grassroots support that is building for his campaign, and also said he won’t money from large, corporate political action committees.

“It’s going to be the real people and Don Wiviott,” he said.

Wiviott is also putting together a high-profile team to run his campaign. He has hired the polling company used by Gov. Bill Richardson. His campaign spokeswoman is Caroline Buerkle, who ran Madrid’s congressional campaign last year. Buerkle wasn’t planning to get into another race this soon after the tight and bitterly-fought congressional campaign against Wilson, but said she believes in Wiviott and “also believes that voters should have a choice.”

Wiviott said his entire campaign team will be from New Mexico. He plans to spend rest of the year “on the road and on the phone” as he prepares to take on at least one well-known Democrat in June and, even before that, secure the 20-percent support at the preprimary nominating convention that is necessary to appear on the ballot.

Wiviott said he’ll do that. He said he doesn’t know whether he could win in other years, but 2008 is different. People are fed up with government and hungry for change, he said.

“People have been very accepting of my campaign,” Wiviott said. “I want the same things they want. I want to see change and accountability.”

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Wiviott won’t take money from any PACs.