Steve Pearce (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Former Republican Congressman Steve Pearce is touting a poll he commissioned that shows him with a slight lead over incumbent Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., in this year’s 2nd Congressional District race.
The poll has Pearce up by 4 percentage points – 48-44 percent. When considering only those surveyed who knew of both candidates, the lead widened to nine points – 51 percent to 42 percent.
The poll was conducted by the Tarrance Group, a Republican polling and research firm. It surveyed 401 likely voters between February 16-18, and has a margin of error of 4.9 percent, so Pearce’s lead is within the margin of error.
“These results prove what I have been hearing from New Mexicans as I travel the 2nd Congressional District,” Pearce said in a prepared statement. “New Mexicans believe the Teague- and the Pelosi-led Congress are on the wrong track, and their big government spending is a problem, not the solution.”
Harry Teague
Despite trailing Pearce, there is still good news for Teague in the poll. According to National Journal’s Hotline On Call blog, Teauge continued to outperform the Democrat generic ballot, meaning that some voters who are turned off by the Democrat brand still feel some connection to the Southern New Mexico incumbent. The generic ballot has the Republican ahead 47 percent to 37 percent.
Democratic Party of New Mexico Executive Director Scott Forrester told NMPolitics.net Tuesday night that he is not surprised that voters recognize Pearce’s name.
“What is surprising is that Steve Pearce’s own poll says he has less support today than he had in the past four elections,” Forrester said. “He’s barely at 48 percent today, but Congressman Pearce got nearly 60 percent of the vote in his three campaigns for the House, and even though he lost his Senate race by 22.7 percent, he won CD2 with 52 percent of the vote.”