U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich
The fundraising arm of Democrats in the U.S. Senate isn’t officially endorsing in the New Mexico primary between Martin Heinrich and Hector Balderas, but its chairwoman is suggesting that she prefers Heinrich.
That’s according to the Albuquerque Journal:
“On Tuesday, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. (chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee), still wasn’t willing to put all her chips on a candidate in New Mexico. But as she did last April, Murray strongly suggested that Rep. Martin Heinrich is her preference over Heinrich’s Democratic challenger, state Auditor Hector Balderas.
“‘We recruited Rep. Heinrich, and we think he’s doing a great job,’ Murray said during an hourlong exchange with Washington reporters about the U.S. Senate landscape. ‘We have not endorsed in that race, but I think he’s doing really great and I look forward to supporting him.’”
The context, from the Journal:
“It’s a delicate dance for Murray in New Mexico. The DSCC views the state’s Democratic primary election in June as potentially competitive. While Murray is impressed with Heinrich’s credentials as a two-term representative in the state’s once Republican-owned 1st Congressional District, she also realizes the up-and-coming Balderas brings a pretty good game to the contest, as well.
“Perhaps Balderas’ most significant strength as a candidate is his close ties to Hispanics, a critical voting bloc in the state. Even though Heinrich is raising significantly more money than Balderas, a strong turnout by Hispanics could help Balderas turn it into a very competitive primary.”
The article states that Murray “doesn’t want to risk alienating Hispanic voters who will be critical to a Democratic victory in the November general election.”
Read the full article here.