Message to Pearce: You can’t win the Senate race

Though Heather Wilson isn’t directly saying it, the implicit message from Monday’s announcement seemed to be that she – not Steve Pearce or anyone else – is the only GOP candidate who can win the U.S. Senate race

There was a different atmosphere around Republican Heather Wilson’s announcement on Monday that she’s running for U.S. Senate than there was around the launch of her 2008 campaign, which ended with a primary loss.

Many of the same familiar politicos were present this time around, including former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici. But there were some different – and significant – political players on stage this time.

At the center was Matt Rush, a former land commissioner candidate and a Roosevelt County farmer and rancher who does motivational speaking. He was given the prominent role of introducing each speaker who came before Wilson.

Rush’s decision to endorse Wilson – and to try to keep a candidate who is further to the right out of the GOP primary – caught the attention of many sources NMPolitics.net spoke with. Some expected him to stay out of the race, or maybe even back U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce or another potential candidate over Wilson.

Rush made clear why he is endorsing Wilson, saying she is “the only candidate who can beat the Democrat.”

In other words, he wants Republicans to win the U.S. Senate race, and doesn’t think anyone but Wilson can do that. For a party still trying to heal from the divisive 2008 primary between Pearce and Wilson – which was followed by Pearce being shellacked by Democrat Tom Udall in the general – the implicit message seemed to be aimed at Pearce:

“You can’t win, you messed things up for us last time, and we don’t want you to do it again. Don’t run for Senate.”

‘The party is uniting’

Wilson, of course, didn’t go that far in an interview with NMPolitics.net. But she said there is a big difference this year.

“The party is uniting and pulling together,” she said. “That is different from two years ago – the number of people, leaders in the Republican Party from all over the state, who have come together.”

“I also think the times have changed and people are very worried about the future of our country,” Wilson said.

Though her announcement was intentionally designed to win over those on the right side of the GOP who question whether she’s conservative enough, Wilson said she’s staying true to who she has always been. Wilson has a record of a Republican, definitely, but one who has compromised on some significant issues.

“I am pro life. I am pro Second Amendment. Nothing about that has changed,” Wilson said. “A free-trade, low-tax, fair-regulation Republican.”

“I also try to understand problems and listen to people,” she said. “I am proud of my record.”

For his part, Pearce’s response to Wilson entering the Senate race was to essentially, well, yawn. He also shrugged off questions about his own consideration of the Senate race.

“Politics can wait,” he said. “The business at hand – addressing devastating unemployment rates, obstacles to small business, and a looming debt crisis – cannot.”

“Right now, I am working hard at the job that the people of New Mexico sent me to Congress to do,” Pearce said. “The filing deadline is still nine months away, and I have plenty of time to make decisions. I’ll reach out to my supporters, but now, for New Mexicans, the stakes are higher than personal ambition.”

‘The country is in deep trouble’

Wilson also talked about the stakes being high. In fact, she said the significant threats facing the nation are the reason she’s running.

Wilson is 50 and has recovered from a recent fight against thyroid cancer. She’s been back in New Mexico only a couple of years to enjoy more time with her husband and children after spending 11 years in the U.S. House.

She’s a GOP heavyweight, so she had the luxury of waiting for the right race to come along, knowing the huge outpouring of support she enjoyed on Monday would be there when she decided to run. So why now?

Wilson said she feels a duty to serve – in particular because of her knowledge of the nation’s finances and national defense, though she also mentioned health care and “cultivating a society that respects the family” as significant issues.

“We need leaders who are willing to serve and grapple with those extremely difficult problems,” Wilson said. “The country is in deep trouble. The financial picture, no matter if you take the optimistic or pessimistic projections, they are both unsustainable.”

How serious a threat is that, I asked? Is the nation facing possible collapse? Wilson said she isn’t sure, but she doesn’t want to find out.

“If something is unsustainable, you have to either avert it or it will cause you great harm,” she said. “We need to figure this out, and that’s going to take some tremendous effort.”