Pearce formally announces Senate run

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., traveled around the state this weekend to formally announce that he’s running for the Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici. The above video is from his announcement in Mesilla.

You can also read from local media about Pearce’s stops in Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Clovis, Roswell and Santa Fe.

A couple of points I found interesting from visiting with Doña Ana County Republicans in Mesilla on Sunday. Though he’s represented them in Congress for years, many aren’t sold on Pearce. That doesn’t mean they’ll vote in the primary for his opponent, U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson. It just means they haven’t yet decided how they’ll vote.

A couple of Republican activists I spoke with expressed disappointment in Pearce’s decision to run against Wilson in a primary, leaving the Second Congressional District seat open when Democrats are expected to make more gains in Washington next year.

And a few were upset with the fact that Pearce, who is running on a campaign of conservative values, held his Mesilla announcement at noon on a Sunday, when many people were in church.

For whatever it’s worth. I didn’t get the sense that Pearce had lost votes over that or his decision to run against Wilson. But I was surprised to learn that, even in conservative circles in the Las Cruces area, many Republican activists will take a close look at Wilson before deciding whether to support Pearce.

Many others, on the other hand, told me they don’t need to take a closer look at Wilson because they’ve known Pearce for years and are loyal to him.

This will likely be the most interesting primary in the state next year.

Update, 2:55 p.m.

I’ve been contacted already by two people who thought this article was unfair and that I should have included more details about those who showed up to hear Pearce. Because I didn’t, they said, my article had a tone that was unfair to Pearce. Valid points, so here goes:

I would guess that about 150 people showed up. That’s a sizable crowd for noon on a Sunday. And they were certainly enthusiastic, as you can hear if you watch the video posted above. As I pointed out, a few people – maybe eight or 10 – expressed disappointment that Pearce was challenging Wilson and/or disappointment in the time and date of the announcement. I thought their comments were interesting enough to note.

As I also noted above, many people said they’re absolutely backing Pearce. Many took Pearce yard signs with them when they left the event.