Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Hector Balderas, left, and Martin Heinrich
The U.S. Senate primary between Democrats Martin Heinrich and Hector Balderas could be quite a battle, if Balderas can raise enough money and intelligently articulate his views
Martin Heinrich is a superstar of the Democratic Party who showed surprising strength in 2010, holding on to a contested U.S. House seat in spite of the national mood shifting to the right.
Hector Balderas is one of the lead reformers in the Democratic Party and a prominent Hispanic. He was the youngest Hispanic statewide elected official in the nation when he became state auditor in 2007.
The U.S. Senate primary between the two – which also includes little-known community activist Andres Valdez – could be quite a battle, if Balderas can raise enough money and intelligently articulate his views.
Heinrich has an early financial advantage of about $300,000 because he was able to transfer money from his U.S. House account to his Senate campaign. In addition, Heinrich is a known – and liked – U.S. representative among left-leaning groups, which is why groups such as AFSCME and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund endorsed him before Balderas even entered the race.
However, the desire for a Hispanic U.S. senator from New Mexico is strong in many circles, and there are still some bad feelings over Martin Chávez being pushed out of the primary race to replace Pete Domenici in the Senate in 2008. There will be an intentional effort among some to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
The candidate to beat
Heinrich is good at what he does. The video his campaign released when he entered the Senate race is an example of the professional, polished campaign Heinrich will run. He has already established himself as the candidate to beat in the primary.
He will have outside financial help. The AFSCME and Defenders of Wildlife endorsements ensure that.
Heinrich is a candidate who excites the progressive wing of his party. He’s generally good on their issues.
He’s also worked intentionally in the U.S. House to protect the state’s national labs and Kirtland Air Force Base, which helps explain his support among moderates. During last year’s general election, he picked up the support of thousands of voters in his race against Republican Jon Barela who also voted for Republican Susana Martinez in the governor’s race.
The challenger
Balderas is respected from the progressive wing of his party to the moderate wing of the other party. Former Lt. Gov. candidate Brian Colón, a progressive favorite, is actively promoting Balderas’ candidacy. Keith Gardner, Martinez’s chief of staff, practically endorsed Balderas in last year’s auditor race.
The auditor has taken on the powers-that-be in Santa Fe during his tenure. He has a record that will appeal to many in these times of financial woes and corruption scandals.
Like Heinrich’s, the video Balderas released announcing his Senate campaign was impressive. It was a first and critical step toward demonstrating that he should be taken seriously.
What Balderas must do to compete
At this point, the ball is in Balderas’ court. Heinrich has worked hard to build early support for his campaign, with success. It’s now up to Balderas to show that he can keep up.
Heinrich has a record. His stances are known. He’s easily and intelligently able to articulate his views.
What about Balderas? He had a short career in the N.M. House before becoming auditor, but his stances on many critical issues aren’t known. He must show that he can take positions on issues and articulate his views intelligently.
And, most important, Balderas must raise enough money in the current fundraising period to prove he’s in the race to stay. (What’s impressive enough? $200,000? $300,000?)
If he can articulate his views and raise enough money, Balderas can compete with Heinrich. If he doesn’t, the pressure from outside groups to hand the Democratic Party’s nomination to Heinrich will only increase.