Pearce, shown today at the Roundhouse. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Steve Pearce says the movement that helped Scott Brown recently win a Senate seat in Massachusetts also helps him in his quest to retake New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District seat – but it isn’t because he’s a Republican.
“This is not about Republicans. This is about frustration with Washington,” Pearce said today in an interview. “If Republicans make the mistake of believing this is about us, there’s going to be a tendency to overinflate.”
Pearce, speaking at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, said the message from voters is clear: “Things have got to change.”
The former congressman, who’s seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, was in Santa Fe to meet with members of the state Christian Association of Parent Educators – a homeschooling group whose members gathered at the Roundhouse to celebrate the governor’s declaring the first week in February as home education week in New Mexico.
Pearce told members of the group that evangelical Christians could be more influential if more voted. He said half of eligible evangelicals register to vote – and only half of those actually do vote.
He also told them they could be more influential if they took more time to volunteer on campaigns – such as his – and run for offices such as school board positions, though he said he knows many of them lead busy lives.
In his interview, Pearce said he’s feeling “very positive” about the race and confident that his campaign will “have the resources we need.”
Recently, two Republicans from Las Cruces began campaigns for state auditor and treasurer. In addition, one of five Republicans for governor is from Las Cruces.
As the largest city in the 2nd District, Las Cruces is a place where Teague has concentrated much of his time because it its significant population of Democrats. Pearce said having Republicans from the city running in statewide races could help him in his race against Teague, though he clarified that he wasn’t endorsing anyone in the gubernatorial race.
“If Cruces shows up – a lot of Republicans – it could be good for us,” Pearce said.