{"id":2352,"date":"2007-10-09T11:51:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-09T17:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/chavez-formally-enters-u-s-senate-race\/"},"modified":"2007-10-09T11:51:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-09T17:51:00","slug":"chavez-formally-enters-u-s-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/chavez-formally-enters-u-s-senate-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Ch\u00e1vez formally enters U.S. Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1vez<\/a> announced today that he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Pete Domenici<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

\u201cI am pleased this morning to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate,\u201d the Democrat said during a news conference in Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. \u201cThese are extraordinarily difficult times for our country. \u2026 As a senator, I will vote to end this war now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The mayor was flanked by a number of high-raking Democrats who were obviously aiming to show a great deal of support for Ch\u00e1vez at a time when many are concerned that he isn\u2019t the strongest candidate they could run against formidable Republican opponents. GOP U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a> has already announced that she\u2019s running, and U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce<\/a>, R-N.M., will announce later today whether he\u2019s running.<\/p>\n

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

Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s decision leaked Monday, so the news conference was a mere formality. At the event, Ch\u00e1vez praised Domenici\u2019s long record of service to New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHe\u2019s been a great friend of Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, and he leaves big shoes to fill, along with a legacy that he can be proud of,\u201d Ch\u00e1vez said of Domenici.<\/p>\n

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

In addition to voting to end the war, Ch\u00e1vez said, as New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s next senator, he would push for comprehensive health-care reform, responsible management of the nation\u2019s finances and a new focus on combating global warming and making the nation energy independent \u2013 a mission in which he said the state\u2019s national labs would play a key role. Ch\u00e1vez said he would also vote to repeal the No Child Left Behind Act.<\/p>\n

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

He said he believes the GOP \u201cwill fight mean and dirty. Their war and their power are at stake. But in my heart, I know that they no longer represent the mainstream in their party or in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI still believe one person can make a difference,\u201d he said. \u201cNo one person has worked harder to make Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> a better place than I.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

GOP primary battle \u2018doesn\u2019t matter\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Ch\u00e1vez is facing some obstacles as he begins his run. All Ch\u00e1vez-backed candidates and referenda were defeated in last week\u2019s municipal election in Albuquerque by a loose coalition of Republicans and progressive Democrats, and a SurveyUSA poll<\/a> conducted this weekend for KOB-TV<\/a> in Albuquerque found that Ch\u00e1vez will face a difficult race against Wilson and would start at a huge disadvantage against Pearce.<\/p>\n

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

Ch\u00e1vez said none of that concerns him.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter to me who the GOP nominates,\u201d he said, adding that he will focus on issues including Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, health care and education. \u201cI\u2019m going to talk about those opportunities, and we\u2019ll let whomever they nominate talk about whatever it is they want to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI have more experience, with the exception of our governor, than any elected official in the State of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>,\u201d Ch\u00e1vez said.<\/p>\n

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

\n

He acknowledged that he had spoken with Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a>, who has said he won\u2019t get in the race, and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a>, who is considering the race, but would not share details of those conversations. A news release from his campaign, however, said Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> indicated he has no intention of running for Senate.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 1:10 p.m.<\/p>\n

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

The Republican Party of New Mexico just put out a news release<\/a> calling Ch\u00e1vez \u201cirresponsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAs Albuquerque mayor, Marty Ch\u00e1vez has raised taxes and dramatically increased spending, treating taxpayers like his own personal ATM,\u201d the release states. \u201cHis priorities have been on pet projects rather than on public safety or basic services. And Ch\u00e1vez salivated at the opportunity to seize private property.<\/p>\n

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

The release cites a long list of Ch\u00e1vez actions, then labels him \u201cwrong for New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMarty Ch\u00e1vez has raised taxes on New Mexicans a number of times, and there\u2019s no reason to think that would change if he were elected to the United States Senate. His belt-busting budgets show his love of big government and his disregard for the way in which he spends hard-earned tax dollars,\u201d the release states. \u201cCh\u00e1vez has neglected public safety and turned Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> into a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants who commit crimes. Ethically, Ch\u00e1vez has also shown that his personal and political ambitions are more important than maintaining the integrity of elected office. Marty Ch\u00e1vez is wrong for the people of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 2:10 p.m.<\/p>\n

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

Democrat Don Wiviott<\/a>, who has committed to spending $2.1 million in a Senate primary that will now include Ch\u00e1vez, released this statement:<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI welcome Marty Ch\u00e1vez to the campaign. I got in this race early because I believe there are serious issues facing this country, such as bringing our troops home from Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, creating jobs and protecting our planet, that are more important than partisan or personal politics,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m going to keep doing what I\u2019ve been doing since I announced my candidacy in late June: Introduce myself to the people of New Mexico<\/st1:State> and explain why we need a strong, progressive voice in Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>. I\u2019m committed to winning this race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1vez announced today that he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Pete Domenici. \u201cI am pleased this morning to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate,\u201d the Democrat said during a news conference in Albuquerque. \u201cThese are extraordinarily difficult times for our country. \u2026 As […]<\/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-2352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352","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=2352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}