McCamley gets endorsements from Cervantes’ peers

Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley announced Wednesday evening four high-profile endorsements in his bid for the Second Congressional District seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M.

Most striking is the fact that three of the endorsements come from Democratic colleagues of state Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, all of them from Doña Ana County. Cervantes is expected to get in the race if Pearce decides to run for Senate next year instead of seeking re-election.

In endorsing McCamley, a Democrat, Reps. Nate Cote and Antonio Lujan of Las Cruces and Andy Nuñez of Hatch, along with Public Regulation Commissioner Sandy Jones of Sierra County, stated in a news release that McCamley “is exactly the kind of representative we need in Washington, and we will work to help him get there.”

“We’ve seen the results he has achieved for his constituents as a Doña Ana County commissioner, and we’re looking forward to seeing him do even better in Washington, D.C.,” the officials stated in the release from McCamley’s campaign. “This election is all about bringing fresh ideas, new energy and a focus on results to Congress, and that’s just what we expect from Commissioner McCamley.”

The legislative endorsements come from half of Cervantes’ colleagues in the House from his own county, and those lawmakers know as well as anyone paying attention to politics in Southern New Mexico that Cervantes is watching closely to see whether Pearce leaves his House seat to run for Senate.

McCamley said in the release that he is “honored to have this strong support from Democrats who represent the Second Congressional District.”

“Together, we are getting out the message that it’s time for change in Washington,” he said. “It’s time for a representative who focuses on getting results for the people of southern New Mexico, and that’s what I intend to do.”

Many assumed Cervantes, if he jumped into the congressional race, would be the immediate Democratic frontrunner. That may still be true, but the endorsements indicate that McCamley, who has been in the race for several months, has built an organization that’s stronger than many Democrats expected. A primary between the two could be difficult to predict.

What about the other candidate who’s in the race, Al Kissling? A candidate has to get the votes of 20 percent of delegates at the preprimary nominating convention next spring to appear on the June primary ballot. If only McCamley and Kissling are in the race, that’s possible, but it’s highly unlikely Kissling would get the delegate support he needs if McCamley and Cervantes are also vying for those votes.

The situation might get more complicated. If Pearce gets out, other Democrats may enter the House race. If Pearce stays in, it’s unlikely Cervantes will run. Time will tell.