Steve Pearce says he’s either going to run in 2010 for governor or attempt to reclaim the 2nd Congressional District seat he used to hold.
The Hobbs oilman and Republican, who left office last month after opting against running for re-election to his House seat and losing the U.S. Senate race to Democrat Tom Udall, told the Las Cruces Sun-News for an article published Saturday that he’s been traveling the state and talking to county-level GOP officials about his political future. He’s keeping his former congressional office in Hobbs open for personal use and keeping his Washington, D.C. and Hobbs homes.
And he’s focusing on building a network and doing polling in the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts with his eyes on the governor’s race. But that doesn’t mean it’s the seat he’s gunning for.
“We fully intend to run for something,” the newspaper quoted Pearce as saying. “To say I want one over the other — it’s still a bit early to lean one direction over the other.”
A run at his congressional seat would pit Pearce against Democratic Rep. Harry Teague, who like Pearce is a Hobbs oilman. If he gets into the gubernatorial race, Pearce could face former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson in the primary. He narrowly defeated Wilson last year in a divisive U.S. Senate primary.
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is the only Democrat who has already entered the 2010 gubernatorial race, but actor Val Kilmer, who lives on a ranch outside Pecos, is among others who are seriously considering getting into the race.
The Sun-News checked in with a few others who left office at the end of 2008. According to the article, former state Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces, refers to last year’s narrow defeat at the hands of Democrat Steve Fischmann as a chance for a “break” from politics.
“We expect to be active in the political affairs of our community, state and country, so we’re not out of the picture, if that’s what you’re asking,” the newspaper quoted Rawson as saying. “If you’re asking what that picture looks like, I’m going to hold on to that one.”
Meanwhile, former Doña Ana County Commissioner Kent Evans told the Sun-News that he may run for office again. And former County Commissioner and congressional candidate Bill McCamley, when asked if he plans to run for office again, said, “Not at the moment. After running for Congress, it takes a little while to recharge your batteries.”