Sunland Park mayor running for Congress; Cote might too

Sunland Park Mayor Martin Resendiz says he’s running for the 2nd Congressional District seat currently held by Steve Pearce, and former State Rep. Nate Cote says he may also jump into the race.

Pearce, a Republican, hasn’t yet said whether he plans to seek re-election to his House seat or run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Bingaman, but most expect him to stick with his Southern New Mexico House seat. Resendiz, a Democrat and the first candidate to enter the race, said he’s running regardless of what Pearce decides.

And though he’s going to announce the formation of an exploratory committee in about a week, Resendiz said that step is a formality.

“Frankly, the decision has already been made,” the mayor told NMPolitics.net. “We’re going to form the exploratory committee first, but I’m pretty much committed to the run.”

Cote, a Democrat who represented parts of Doña Ana and Otero counties in the state House for four years, said he’s likely to run either for Congress or try to retake his old state House seat next year.

Cote said he’s “seriously looking at” running for Congress and is trying to put the pieces together to form an exploratory committee.

“I’ve asked some people to be on this exploratory committee and they’ve agreed. No one has said that it’s not a good idea,” Cote said.

One other Democrat has publicly expressed interest in the race. Edgar Lopez of Las Cruces, who heads a real estate company and is a longtime political insider, told NMPolitics.net in February that he was considering running. However, he’s made little noise since.

Resendiz isn’t intimidated by Pearce

If he opts to seek re-election, Pearce is considered by Republicans and many Democrats to be quite formidable. He held the House seat from 2003-2009 before giving it up to run unsuccessfully for an open U.S. Senate seat, then retook the House seat from Democrat Harry Teague last year.

Like the state’s other congressional districts, this district has more registered Democrats than Republicans, but it was represented by a Republican for more than two decades before Teague’s brief tenure. And many speculate that redistricting later this year could add Republicans to the district.

In spite of all of that, Resendiz said he isn’t intimidated. He said the response to his intention to run has been “fantastic.”

“You just have to take it to the grassroots level,” Resendiz said.

Resendiz served as a municipal judge in Sunland Park for 12 years before becoming mayor almost four years ago. The city, which has a population of just over 14,000, is located just west of El Paso, Texas. Resendiz is also the city’s former director of elder care and a former police officer in El Paso.

He said he knows judges throughout the 2nd District, which will help him build a network, and also has connections to communities he’s worked with as mayor, including Deming, Columbus and Lordsburg. Resendiz said he plans to campaign on helping the district’s residents and communities with fiscal, infrastructure and quality-of-life issues – the types of issues he’s familiar with as a mayor.

“We’re basically going to try to bring the government down to a smaller level where it deals with people in their every day lives,” he said.

Cote says he can ‘hit the ground running’

Cote, who lost the District 53 State House seat in the November election to Republican Rick Little, has been looking to get back into public office ever since. He sought, unsuccessfully, to get the governor’s appointment to the state Senate seat vacated in January by current Secretary of State Dianna Duran.

Cote, who fought for ethics reform and veteran’s issues while in Santa Fe, said his experience at the state level would be important in Congress and allow him to “hit the ground running.”

In addition, he’s been working on a grassroots level on issues like community safety and food distribution since losing his House seat, and said he is “learning a lot.”

“I have a lot to bring to the table,” Cote said. “I have a lot of experience, I listen quite well and I am certainly a person of action.”

Cote said he believes Pearce is vulnerable because he is focused on appeasing the tea party and is ignoring the rest of his constituents.