{"id":2397,"date":"2007-10-17T17:16:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-17T23:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/potential-candidates-consider-congressional-race\/"},"modified":"2007-10-17T17:16:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-17T23:16:00","slug":"potential-candidates-consider-congressional-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/potential-candidates-consider-congressional-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Potential candidates consider congressional race"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Four state legislators and a county<\/st1:placetype> Republican Party<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> chair confirmed they are considering running for Congress now that U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce<\/a> has decided to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

State Sens. Leonard Lee Rawson<\/a>, R-Las Cruces, and John Arthur Smith<\/a>, D-Deming, Reps. Joseph Cervantes<\/a> and Jeff Steinborn<\/a>, both Las Cruces Democrats, and Sierra County Republican Party Chair C. Earl Greer<\/a> are all considering the Second Congressional District race.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Cervantes, Greer and Rawson appear to be more serious in their consideration than Smith and Steinborn. Smith said he\u2019s been asked repeatedly in the last 10 days to consider running. He said he will, but noted that he\u2019s still carrying a $50,000 debt from his failed 2002 run against Pearce.<\/p>\n

Steinborn said he\u2019s enjoying his current position, and Congress \u201cis not a serious consideration for me, but it\u2019s something I haven\u2019t closed the door on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Rawson, on the other hand, said he\u2019s \u201cabsolutely\u201d considering the race.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>\u201cWe\u2019re looking very hard at it and we\u2019ll determine if it\u2019s the appropriate thing to do,\u201d he said, while declining to give a timeline for a decision.<\/p>\n

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

Cervantes said he is \u201cdoing what it takes right now, at this stage, and it would be a great privilege to represent the district. I think the country clearly is looking for change and I\u2019ve worked for seven years in a legislative body doing the same thing in Santa Fe<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

He also did not give a timeline for a decision.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Greer said he is \u201ctaking a serious look\u201d at a congressional run and will decide within a week.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWe\u2019re going through the process. We\u2019re talking to supporters,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 As a family, we\u2019re sitting down and talking about what it would mean for our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

Greer, Smith and Steinborn have all run unsuccessfully for the seat in recent years. Steinborn said he will wait a few days to allow the dust to settle before making any decisions.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>\u201cWe\u2019ll just wait and see what emerges over the next few days, but as of this moment, I\u2019m satisfied working for the people of District 37 and serving the State of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to noting his debt, Smith said he has built seniority in Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> and heads key committees, including the powerful Legislative Finance Committee<\/a>, which he co-chairs. He said he must balance that against the likelihood of winning tough primary and general elections.<\/p>\n

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

Preliminary analysis<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Rawson, the Senate minority whip and the only Republican legislator from Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>, has the potential to be a formidable candidate. He\u2019s been in the Senate for 20 years and is a conservative Republican who would secure much of the east-side support that made Pearce so strong. Since he\u2019s from Las Cruces<\/st1:city>, Rawson could also secure important support in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

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

Cervantes could also be a strong candidate, both because of his record and because he is one of the few, if not the only, known Hispanic Democrat considering the race. But here\u2019s another scenario: If Rawson runs for Congress, Cervantes and Steinborn might considering running for his state Senate seat, which is up for grabs next year and encompasses much of both of their House districts.<\/p>\n

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

Greer has worked hard in the past to win influential positions, but he failed in his bid to unseat Pearce, lost a Public Regulation Commission race last year and failed to unseat state GOP Chair Allen Weh earlier this year.<\/p>\n

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

That doesn\u2019t mean he should be counted out. The Second Congressional District is conservative, and, at least if Rawson opts against running, there isn\u2019t an obvious frontrunner for the GOP.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI know that the other side of the aisle is licking their chops, but I wouldn\u2019t take things for granted if I was them,\u201d Greer said.<\/p>\n

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

The Democrats who have already entered the race are Al Kissling<\/a>, Do\u00f1a Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley<\/a> and former Lea County Commissioner Harry Teague<\/a>. Many doubt Kissling will get the support at the preprimary nominating convention to qualify for the ballot, but McCamley had already raised $206,000 at the end of September and Teague can finance his own campaign, if necessary, and is the only Democrat from the eastern side of the district who has announced that he is running or is seriously considering the race.<\/p>\n

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

At this point, no Republicans have entered the race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four state legislators and a county Republican Party chair confirmed they are considering running for Congress now that U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce has decided to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici. State Sens. Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces, and John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, Reps. Joseph Cervantes and Jeff Steinborn, both […]<\/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-2397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397","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=2397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}