{"id":2347,"date":"2007-10-08T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-08T21:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/dont-discount-her-denish-seriously-pondering-senate\/"},"modified":"2007-10-08T15:40:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-08T21:40:00","slug":"dont-discount-her-denish-seriously-pondering-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/dont-discount-her-denish-seriously-pondering-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t discount her: Denish seriously pondering Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> says, despite reports to the contrary, that she is \u201cvery seriously\u201d considering running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

Media reports in recent days have suggested that she was making a deal with Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1vez<\/a> to stay out of the Senate race if he stayed out of the 2010 gubernatorial race, and many have suggested her consideration of the Senate race isn\u2019t serious.<\/p>\n

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

No so, Denish says.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe compelling argument is this: The country is in a mess and what we need is really good candidates to step forward,\u201d Denish said today in an interview. \u201cIf the country wasn\u2019t in a crisis, I think I would not blink an eye (in deciding against running for Senate), but I think building a stronger majority in the Senate is a real priority at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Denish, a Democrat, told me several months ago that she had no interest in leaving New Mexico<\/st1:state> for Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. She told me today that she\u2019s still not certain she does have such interest because she loves New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. But a lot of people are arguing that she is the Democrat who can defeat a Republican in a Senate race next year.<\/p>\n

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

And Democrats in Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> are trying to convince Denish that such potential candidates must step forward, for the good of their country.<\/p>\n

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

Denish said she hopes to make a decision later this week.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThis should be about getting the best candidates who can run strong races and win the Senate seat for New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, so we can be part of the change that\u2019s going to happen in 2009,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very personal decision, and I\u2019m not an instant decision-maker about life changes like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Denish said she hasn\u2019t spoken with Ch\u00e1vez, who will announce on Tuesday that he\u2019s running for the open Senate seat, but said he tried to call her today and they will likely talk soon. His entrance into the race won\u2019t be a factor in her decision.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMy decision isn\u2019t based on Marty. It isn\u2019t based on Gov. (Bill) Richardson<\/a>,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned in politics you can\u2019t make decisions based on what other people are doing. You have to make your own plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Denish said she has always worked as an executive \u2013 in business and government \u2013 and she sees herself \u201cas more suited for that.\u201d However, with a stronger Democratic majority in Congress, there is real opportunity for health-care reform and positive steps in foreign policy and changing course in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, she said.<\/p>\n

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

Denish acknowledged that, if the current climate in the state remains through 2010, she would likely be the frontrunner in the gubernatorial race, and said her position would only be strengthened by Domenici\u2019s retirement, because other potential 2010 candidates will instead run for the Senate or House in 2008. But that\u2019s three years off, Denish pointed out, and a lot could change.<\/p>\n

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

When I told Denish it sounded as though she was leaning toward running for Senate, she said that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt means that I\u2019m weighing my options,\u201d Denish said.<\/p>\n

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

In addition to Ch\u00e1vez, the other Democrats who have entered the Senate race are Santa Fe<\/st1:city> developer Don Wiviott<\/a> and Jim Hannan<\/a> of Santa Fe<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> and Leland Lehrman<\/a> of Lamy. Former Attorney General Patricia Madrid<\/a> is also considering the race, and told me today she will be in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> this weekend to meet with her family before she makes a decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish says, despite reports to the contrary, that she is \u201cvery seriously\u201d considering running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici. Media reports in recent days have suggested that she was making a deal with Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1vez to stay out of the Senate race if he stayed […]<\/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-2347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347","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=2347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}