Guns become the focus of the 2nd District race

This article has been updated.

Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley turned the focus of the race to guns last week when he unveiled an ad accusing Democratic opponent Harry Teague of not being supportive of the Second Amendment — and using an eight-year-old quote from Teague to back up the attack.

Here’s the 30-second spot, which is airing around the district:

“Southern New Mexico values the Second Amendment, unlike Harry Teague. He says he’s not a gun fan, and it’d be fine with him to turn his guns in to the government,” Tinsley says in the ad. “But that’s no surprise, because Harry Teague has liberal views.”

The ad cites a Teague quote included in a Feb. 14, 2000 article published in the Albuquerque Journal. Teague, who was then a member of the state Democratic Party’s resolutions committee, was quoted as saying he supported many provisions in some resolutions being proposed at the time, including “new controls on campaign finances as well as gun control measures that hold owners responsible for safety.”

“Teague, a Lea County commissioner, said he hunts and keeps ‘seven or eight’ guns in his house,” the article states.

“I live out in the country, too, and I really am not a gun fan. We have so many people (in this country) who live on the ninth floor of an apartment building and really don’t know what a gun really should be used for. It would be fine with me to turn my guns in and don’t have them,” the article quoted Teague as saying.

In response to the ad, the Teague campaign formed a bipartisan committee of gun owners who support him. The group was unveiled on Tuesday at a news conference attended by Teague and Gov. Bill Richardson, who has an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association. At the event, Richardson said there had been “false attacks” against Teague related to the Second Amendment.

“I think the reason this organization is being formed is to kill that fallacy that is out there, because nothing could be further from the truth,” Richardson said. “… They’re trying to distort Harry’s record, which is an excellent record.”

Richardson said Republicans aren’t the only ones who support gun rights. The governor, who has a concealed-carry permit, pointed out his own NRA rating. He said Teague “embraces Democratic values and takes our rights seriously,” has been hunting since he was eight years old and supports the Second Amendment.

The 2000 quote

So what about the 2000 quote? Teague said at the news conference that he remembers “very well” the conversation with the Journal reporter.

“It was right before we were going to have a commission meeting,” said the former Lea County commissioner. “We’d been laughing and having a good time and I made a few smart remarks rather facetiously. I remember two of them as being, ‘I’m no big gun fan. I only have seven or eight guns.’ The humor got lost during the eight years and so did part of the quote. The other quote was that it would be fine with me for them to take my guns up if they give me a key to the armory.’”

“So, you know, eight years ago I didn’t know I was going to be running for Congress,” Teague said. “If I had, I would have rephrased those quotes a little bit differently.”

Tinsley campaign spokesman Jim Pettit, in a news release sent before Teague explained the 2000 quote, said Teague “wants to change history.”

“He is on the record saying it would be fine to turn in his guns to the government. He is bothering people at home in a desperate attempt to erase his past comments through automated robocalls,” Pettit said. “He has enlisted Gov. Bill Richardson to hold a press conference because he has a lot of explaining to do and needs help to do it.”

At the news conference, Teague said he’s a strong proponent of the Second Amendment.

“The Second Amendment is more than just a right. It’s our way of life,” he said. “So let me assure you, as a proud gun owner myself, and as your next congressman, I will stand strong every day for the Second Amendment and I will go to Congress to fight for the values of southern New Mexico.”

Tinsley, in his ad, said he will “oppose the liberal agenda” in Congress “and stand with you.” He said, “The right to own guns is part of our heritage. It’s who we are.”

The NRA hasn’t yet ranked or endorsed federal candidates running for office in the Nov. 4 election.

Tinsley’s attack comes in the most conservative congressional district in the state. And any traction on a hot-button issue like gun ownership could work to a candidate’s advantage headed into Election Day in what is perceived as a close race.

Internal poll had Teague leading a month ago

How close a race this is isn’t known. But, as if on cue, the Teague campaign released today an internal poll that showed Teague leading by 5 percentage points at the beginning of September. Though it’s not an independent or recent poll, it is the first 2nd District poll released publicly.

With 13 percent undecided, the poll had Teague leading 46 percent to 41 percent. The poll memo released by the Teague campaign doesn’t include the question that was asked, but states that the results are based on a survey of 500 likely voters. The survey was conducted by Hamilton Campaigns between Sept. 2 and 5 and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

Click here for an explanation of the problems with internal polls. The bottom line: They’re only released publicly if they are favorable to the campaign that conducted them.

The memo accompanying Teague’s new poll is evidence of that. It states that the previous poll conducted by Hamilton Campaigns on the race had Teague trailing by 3 points. That poll was never released publicly, and no additional information about it is revealed in the new internal poll’s memo.

Regardless, Richardson touted the newer poll at Tuesday’s news conference. Without revealing details because the campaign hadn’t yet released it, he said it showed Teague in the lead.

“Harry is going to win. I mean, we’ve never had this congressional seat,” Richardson said. “He has a base in the toughest area for Democrats — the Hobbs, Carlsbad, Roswell area. He’s going to do well and if he does well in Doña Ana County, the race is over.”

The Tinsley campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the poll.

Update, 3:40 p.m.

Pettit said he won’t comment on Teague’s “poll methodology,” but did point out that Teague has vastly outspent Tinsley in the race.

“He is trying to change past positions on the Second Amendment, supporting the troops in Iraq and energy and economic issues. It requires a lot of advertising to try and change the record and attempt to rebrand a candidate,” Pettit said. “We’re not surprised his own polling data would attempt to justify the resources going into this race.”

Update, 3:55 p.m.

Teague released an ad responding to Tinsley’s attack today. Here it is: