{"id":2329,"date":"2007-10-05T07:33:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-05T13:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/udall-wont-run-for-senate\/"},"modified":"2007-10-05T07:33:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-05T13:33:00","slug":"udall-wont-run-for-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/udall-wont-run-for-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"Udall won’t run for Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>U.S. Rep. Tom Udall<\/a>, D-N.M., will not run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici<\/a>. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Udall informed close supporters of his decision Thursday evening and released a statement this morning making it official. He said his new seat on the powerful appropriations committee was a factor in his decision.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe election to replace Domenici in 2008 will be a tough one, but I have every reason to believe I could win it,\u201d Udall said. \u201cI also believe, however, that as I continue to gain in seniority in the House, assume more of a leadership role, assert my authority on the appropriations committee and pass significant legislation like my bill to promote renewable energy, I am in the right place to serve New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> and the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As a member of the House, Udall said, he has \u201cconsistently stood up against the war in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, against infringements on our constitutional rights and against favors for the special interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the House of Representatives, the \u2018people\u2019s house,\u2019 can fix the mess the administration has gotten us into,\u201d Udall said. \u201cI want to stay in the House and do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Udall is certainly in a better position than New Mexico<\/st1:state>\u2019s two other U.S.<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> representatives in that he doesn\u2019t have hotly contested races every two years that require him to raise huge sums of money. For many, six-year Senate terms are more attractive, but Udall is safe in his Democratic stronghold of a district.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

Udall\u2019s announcement closes the door on a handful of Northern New Mexico Democrats who were considering running for his House seat if he ran for Senate. In addition, the Bill Richardson<\/a> factor aside, Udall\u2019s decision means New Mexico Democrats will turn their focus on Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1vez<\/a>, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> and former Attorney General Patricia Madrid<\/a> as they consider who will run for Senate.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> developer Don Wiviott<\/a> remains actively in the race as well. He was publicly endorsed this week by former Ambassador Joe Wilson<\/a>. For the time being, two lesser-known Democrats, Jim Hannan<\/a> of Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> and Leland Lehrman<\/a> of Lamy, also remain in the race.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

On the Republican side, as I\u2019ve already reported<\/a>, U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a> is expected to announce her candidacy for Domenici\u2019s seat today. New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> politicos are anxiously awaiting news of whether U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce<\/a> will get in the race, and state Land Commissioner Pat Lyons<\/a> is also actively considering it.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In his statement, Udall praised Domenici.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI know all New Mexicans and Americans join me in saluting the career and accomplishments of Senator Pete Domenici,\u201d Udall said. \u201cHis service to our nation has been remarkable, and we wish him and his family our best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., will not run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici. Udall informed close supporters of his decision Thursday evening and released a statement this morning making it official. He said his new seat on the powerful appropriations committee was a factor in his decision. \u201cThe election to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}