{"id":28040,"date":"2011-04-02T12:23:37","date_gmt":"2011-04-02T18:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=28040"},"modified":"2011-04-04T08:16:51","modified_gmt":"2011-04-04T14:16:51","slug":"heinrich-formally-enters-u-s-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/04\/heinrich-formally-enters-u-s-senate-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Heinrich formally enters U.S. Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich<\/p><\/div>\n

As expected, U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich<\/a> formally announced today that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Jeff Bingaman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Heinrich, a Democrat, is expected to talk with the media about his decision at 1 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. In the meantime, he posted a video<\/a> and a statement online announcing his decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t take long in Washington to see that things there just aren\u2019t working,\u201d Heinrich said in the prepared statement. \u201cBig corporations and special interests seem to get all of the breaks while regular New Mexico families are left holding the bill.\u00a0New Mexico families deserve better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be proud to represent you in the U.S. Senate,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope you\u2019ll join me on this journey to provide everyone in this state with a prosperous future worthy of our efforts and our values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heinrich is in his third year representing the Albuquerque-area First Congressional District in Congress. He\u2019s the most high-profile Democrat to enter the race to replace Bingaman thus far. State Auditor Hector Balderas<\/a> is reportedly leaning toward running<\/a>, and former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> is also considering the race.<\/p>\n

The only other Democrat who has entered the race is the little-known community activist Andres Valdez<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some say Balderas would give Heinrich a run for his money if he enters the race. Others point to Heinrich\u2019s impressive re-election victory last year \u2013 a year that was tough for Democrats in New Mexico and across the nation \u2013 to argue that Heinrich has strength among swing voters and that Democrats should nominate him.<\/p>\n

The GOP primary<\/h3>\n

On the Republican side, the most high-profile candidate is former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a>, who Heinrich replaced in Congress when she opted instead to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici<\/a> in 2008. Wilson lost that primary to Steve Pearce<\/a>, who lost the general election to Democrat Tom Udall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pearce is among the other Republicans considering running for Senate, and he was quick to hit Heinrich today in a news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Mexico families\u00a0deserve a senator who will go to Washington to fight on their behalf to create jobs and get our economy moving again,\u201d Pearce said. \u201cIn Heinrich, they will only get someone fighting for special interests and the extreme agendas of\u00a0Nancy Pelosi\u00a0and\u00a0Harry Reid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez<\/a>, another Republican, is seriously considering<\/a> entering the race. Two lesser-known Republicans \u2013 Greg Sowards<\/a> and William S. English<\/a> \u2013 have entered the race.<\/p>\n

CD1 race is wide open<\/h3>\n

Heinrich\u2019s decision means his House seat is up for grabs next year. Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis<\/a>, a Republican who formed an exploratory committee weeks ago, is set to formally enter the race on Sunday.<\/p>\n

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Eric Griego<\/a> didn\u2019t wait for Heinrich\u2019s formal entry into the Senate race before he announced Friday<\/a> that he\u2019s forming a congressional exploratory committee. And Terry Brunner, Bingaman\u2019s former state director who now heads USDA Rural Development in New Mexico, told NMPolitics.net that he\u2019s seriously considering running for the House seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve very much enjoyed my job at USDA and I think we have been effective around the state,\u201d Brunner said. \u201cI am going to look at whether I can continue to be effective by serving New Mexicans in the Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Update, 1:25 p.m.<\/h3>\n

State Rep. Antonio \u201cMoe\u201d Maestas<\/a>, D-Albuquerque, announced that he is also seriously considering running for the House seat Heinrich is vacating.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an exciting time for New Mexicans,\u201d Maestas said in a news release. \u201cSenator Bingaman\u2019s retirement presents an opportunity for a new generation of New Mexicans to provide national leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impulse is for politicians to exploit\u00a0wedge issues\u00a0that divide us, but it is imperative to elect leaders with a proven record of bringing people together, particularly in these trying economic times \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly why I am considering a run for Congress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Update, 2:40 p.m.<\/h3>\n

I neglected to report earlier that former gubernatorial candidate and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones<\/a>, a Republican, has also formed a congressional exploratory committee<\/a> as she considers running for Heinrich\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n

In an e-mail, Arnold-Jones said she just returned from a visit to Washington. She said her \u201cexploratory efforts are positive, and we are moving forward quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: As expected, U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich formally announced today that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Jeff Bingaman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[156,116],"class_list":["post-28040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2012-election","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28040","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=28040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28040\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}