There’s been a lot of attention in the past few days on today’s event at which retiring U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., will pledge his support for his party’s nominee for the seat he’s vacating.
Republican Steve Pearce put out a news release on Monday stating that Domenici “will be endorsing my candidacy for his seat after a long and distinguished career.”
“Please join me… for this historic occasion for our state,” Pearce said in the release.
The Associated Press was quick to put out a story quoting a Domenici staffer as confirming “that the longtime senator will announce his backing of Pearce Thursday in Albuquerque” and stating that Domenici’s “support of Pearce comes nearly three months after he endorsed Pearce’s rival” in the primary.
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The implication of the articles is that Domenici hadn’t previously pledged his support to Pearce. Political blogger Joe Monahan wrote just that in a Wednesday posting:
“Some e-mailers pointed out that Pete’s nod will come over two months after the primary and claimed it shows he remains unexcited by the Pearce candidacy,” Monahan wrote. “But Domenici was in no position to endorse Pearce in June. Was he going to turn around just days after endorsing Heather and rub nerves raw by coming for Pearce? Also, coming so soon would have made Domenici look like the opportunist of the year.”
What they’ve all apparently forgotten is that Domenici did endorse Pearce the day after his preferred candidate, Wilson, lost to Pearce in the hotly contested June 3 primary. Seeking to unite the party in the face of a tough general-election battle against Democrat Tom Udall, Domenici and Wilson both endorsed Pearce on June 4.
“I look forward to doing all I can to support Congressman Pearce’s candidacy in the general election and help him become our state’s next