Lt. Gov. John Sanchez (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Lt. Gov. John Sanchez has formally entered the race to replace Jeff Bingaman in the U.S. Senate.
The Republican filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. And the National Journal reported this afternoon that Sanchez will announce his campaign on Tuesday.
The lieutenant governor’s spokesman, Mark Van Dyke, had no immediate comment.
Sanchez, a former state lawmaker and Republican gubernatorial nominee, joins former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson and two lesser-known Republicans – Greg Sowards and William S. English – in the GOP Senate primary.
He’ll enter the race at a financial disadvantage – Wilson raised more than $300,000 in the first quarter of the year and Sowards loaned his campaign $150,000 – but Sanchez could gain ground quickly if he opts for self-financing. He loaned his lieutenant governor campaign almost $274,000 last year.
Van Dyke confirmed that Sanchez was considering entering the Senate race in early march. At the time, he called Sanchez a “proven conservative” and a businessman who is “not going to change his position based on who he’s talking to.”
Sanchez later said that Wilson’s time had passed.
“I think Heather served honorably,” the D.C. publication The Hill quoted Sanchez as saying in late March. “But if we consider the choices that were made by former establishment candidates, I think it’s clear the choices will be very easy for the people of New Mexico.”
On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich and State Auditor Hector Balderas have entered the Senate race, as has little-known community activist Andres Valdez.