{"id":2417,"date":"2007-10-23T11:13:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-23T17:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/wiviott-says-thirst-for-change-will-boost-his-campaign\/"},"modified":"2007-10-23T11:13:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-23T17:13:00","slug":"wiviott-says-thirst-for-change-will-boost-his-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/wiviott-says-thirst-for-change-will-boost-his-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Wiviott says thirst for change will boost his campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Though a recent poll had Don Wiviott<\/a> far behind GOP U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce<\/a> and Heather Wilson<\/a> in potential Senate match-ups, Wiviott said the poll\u2019s results were encouraging. <\/p>\n

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

Wiviott, a Democrat and political newcomer who is vying for the seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici<\/a>, R-N.M., pointed out that he has little statewide name recognition and has done almost no advertising to this point.<\/p>\n

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

Considering that, \u201cI thought we did amazing well, actually,\u201d Wiviott said Friday during an interview in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

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

The SurveyUSA poll<\/a>, conducted for KOB-TV in Albuquerque, had Wiviott with 23-percent support to Pearce\u2019s 58 percent \u2013 a 35-point difference \u2013 and 34-percent support to Wilson\u2019s 51 percent \u2013 a 17-point difference.<\/p>\n

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

By comparison, the poll found Pearce beating Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1vez<\/a>, who is also running for Senate, by 21 points, while Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> beat him by four points. And Pearce beat former Attorney General Patricia Madrid<\/a>, who has decided against running for Senate, by 16 points, while Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> beat her by one point.<\/p>\n

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

Wiviott has been traveling the state to spread the word about his underdog candidacy for U.S. Senate. He was one of three lesser-known Democrats who entered the race before Domenici announced earlier this month that he won\u2019t seek re-election next year. Since that time, political heavyweights Ch\u00e1vez, Pearce and Wilson have all entered the race, and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> is considering it.<\/p>\n

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

Wiviott said he isn\u2019t deterred.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAnything is better than facing a 35-year incumbent, and I was willing to do that,\u201d Wiviott said. \u201cI\u2019m still the same candidate. We jumped in early because of the issues. We need change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

An in-person conversation with the animated Wiviott reveals that he isn\u2019t a typical candidate. He speaks with more enthusiasm than most politicians. He has a wide grin that spreads across his face frequently. His hand gestures are pronounced. He thinks out loud about how to answer questions.<\/p>\n

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

Wiviott\u2019s demeanor fits well with his campaign\u2019s message that people are fed up with politics and looking for change.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPeople are very frustrated with career politicians and how their government has been managed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re losing ground every day, and we need to make some change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

A different candidate<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Wiviott is often identified as a Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> developer in the media, but he said \u201cgreen builder<\/a>\u201d is more accurate. One of his projects, The Lofts<\/a>, was constructed with more environmentally friendly materials than a typical development, and it\u2019s more energy efficient. It was built as an infill project that took the place of a gravel pit. Its plumbing is more water-efficient. It\u2019s also built with natural lighting and other appealing features in mind.<\/p>\n

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

Wiviott said his business experience would help him stay connected with constituents. He said he understand frustration with taxes. Another common problem with Congress is that it enacts policy without considering how it will be implemented, and Wiviott said that\u2019s because many members of Congress don\u2019t have the ability to adequately consider such impact.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThere\u2019s this huge disconnect,\u201d Wiviott said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to live in one place and serve another.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

How do you overcome that? Wiviott said he has an advantage because he\u2019s a political outsider. He also said he would \u201cstay close to the district\u201d and in touch with constituents to ensure he doesn\u2019t forget where he came from.<\/p>\n

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

Perhaps in part because of his profession, Wiviott wants to push for increased use of renewable energy. He said New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>, with its laboratories, can lead the way in clean-energy development.<\/p>\n

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

He\u2019s also a proponent of ending the Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> war, and said the current situation is \u201cwhat happens when the White House runs the war.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

But Wiviott isn\u2019t the typical progressive Democrat who wants all American troops out of Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>. He said he favors leaving a coalition force, which could include American soldiers but also must include troops from other nations in the Middle East, in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> to protect the Kurds in the north and oil fields in the south.<\/p>\n

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

\u2018The real people and Don Wiviott\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Wiviott began his campaign with $400,000 of his own money, and he\u2019s pledged that his campaign will spend $2.1 million on a primary, regardless of whether he can raise the rest or has to finance it himself.<\/p>\n

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

\n

He raised about $130,000 in the third quarter of the year, more than $60,000 of it through the Democratic fundraising Web site ActBlue<\/a>. Wiviott said that\u2019s a show of the Internet, grassroots support that is building for his campaign, and also said he won\u2019t money from large, corporate political action committees.<\/p>\n

\n

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

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be the real people and Don Wiviott,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

Wiviott is also putting together a high-profile team to run his campaign. He has hired the polling company used by Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a>. His campaign spokeswoman is Caroline Buerkle, who ran Madrid<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>\u2019s congressional campaign last year. Buerkle wasn\u2019t planning to get into another race this soon after the tight and bitterly-fought congressional campaign against Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, but said she believes in Wiviott and \u201calso believes that voters should have a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Wiviott said his entire campaign team will be from New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>. He plans to spend rest of the year \u201con the road and on the phone\u201d as he prepares to take on at least one well-known Democrat in June and, even before that, secure the 20-percent support at the preprimary nominating convention that is necessary to appear on the ballot.<\/p>\n

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

Wiviott said he\u2019ll do that. He said he doesn\u2019t know whether he could win in other years, but 2008 is different. People are fed up with government and hungry for change, he said.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPeople have been very accepting of my campaign,\u201d Wiviott said. \u201cI want the same things they want. I want to see change and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Wiviott won\u2019t take money from any PACs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though a recent poll had Don Wiviott far behind GOP U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson in potential Senate match-ups, Wiviott said the poll\u2019s results were encouraging. Wiviott, a Democrat and political newcomer who is vying for the seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., pointed out that he has little statewide name […]<\/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-2417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417","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=2417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}