That didn’t take long.
Days after U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., voted for a controversial cap-and-trade energy bill that many in his conservative district may not like, the National Republican Congressional Committee is out with radio ads and robo calls attacking him for his vote. (Thanks to the New Mexico Independent for the links.)
“Nancy Pelosi just passed her number one legislative priority… it’s a radical plan to implement a national energy tax across America,” the radio ad states. “They call it cap and trade. But make no mistake… it’s a massive new tax.”
There’s a fact check on the ad that you can read here.
Here’s the political reality: Teague is likely to be among the handful of House Democrats who will be most heavily targeted in next year’s election, and the fact that the NRCC is on him almost a year before the primary is proof of that.
Many Republicans think they never should have lost the 2nd Congressional District seat to Teague last year. No Republican has stepped up to challenge him yet, but that’s only because all the others are waiting to see whether former GOP U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce decides to try to regain the seat or run for governor next year.
Make no mistake: Regardless of whether Pearce challenges Teague, this will be one of the most hotly contested House races next year.
It’s already getting a bit contentious. Democracy for New Mexico has the scoop on a group of people who showed up at a Teague event in Roswell and booed him when he said he thought most of his constituents also would have voted for the energy bill. And it degraded from there…