{"id":28757,"date":"2011-04-26T10:36:26","date_gmt":"2011-04-26T16:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=28757"},"modified":"2011-04-27T09:18:10","modified_gmt":"2011-04-27T15:18:10","slug":"balderas-focuses-on-rural-roots-record-as-auditor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/04\/balderas-focuses-on-rural-roots-record-as-auditor\/","title":{"rendered":"Balderas focuses on rural roots, record as auditor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

State Auditor Hector Balderas<\/p><\/div>\n

Hector Balderas<\/a> put the spotlight on his rural roots and his record as state auditor as he launched his U.S. Senate campaign online today with an announcement on Twitter<\/a> and the unveiling of his website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The state auditor also released a campaign video<\/a> obviously designed to contrast his candidacy with that of his most formidable opponent in the Democratic Senate primary, U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this campaign I won\u2019t have the most connections in Washington,\u201d Balderas says in the video. \u201cI won\u2019t be the candidate of the lobbyists or the insiders. But I\u2019m not running to be their senator. I\u2019m running to be yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The video is set in Balderas\u2019 tiny hometown of Wagon Mound.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a prosecutor in Albuquerque, a state lawmaker, and now state auditor, I\u2019ve never forgotten what I learned here,\u201d Balderas says in the video. \u201cThat\u2019s why I wanted to come back home to announce my campaign for the United States Senate and our effort to bring more Wagon Mound values to Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAccountability and fiscal responsibility are not Republican words, and I\u2019m tired of hearing them used as excuses to shortchange our children and break promises to our seniors,\u201d Balderas says.<\/p>\n

Balderas\u2019 entry into the race was no surprise. He filed a statement of candidacy<\/a> with the FEC last week. His current term as auditor runs through 2014, so he doesn\u2019t have to give up that job to run for Senate, but will have to resign if he wins the Senate race.<\/p>\n

In a news release sent after the online announcement of his candidacy, Balderas talked about \u201cfiscal responsibility, bringing people together, and creating opportunities for all New Mexicans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balderas and Heinrich are joined in the Democratic primary by little-known community activist\u00a0Andres Valdez<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Republicans attack<\/h3>\n

On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep.\u00a0Heather Wilson<\/a> and two lesser-known candidates \u2013\u00a0Greg Sowards<\/a> and\u00a0William S. English<\/a> \u2013 have entered the Senate race. Lt. Gov.\u00a0John Sanchez<\/a> is\u00a0seriously considering<\/a> entering the race and expected by many to run.<\/p>\n

The National Republican Senatorial Committee<\/a> was quick to slam Democrats in a news release following Balderas\u2019 announcement, saying they \u201cface the reality of a divisive primary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter which candidate\u00a0emerges from this Democrat primary, voters in New Mexico will have a clear choice next year between a fiscally-responsible Republican and liberal Democrat who believes in higher taxes, more debt, and bigger government,\u201d NRSC Communications Director Brian Walsh said.<\/p>\n

Update, 12:55 p.m.<\/h3>\n

From Republican Party of New Mexico Executive Director Bryan Watkins:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs state auditor, one would assume Hector Balderas understands the value of a hard-earned dollar, but nothing could be further from the truth.\u00a0Balderas\u00a0supports looting New Mexico\u2019s permanent fund<\/a>.\u00a0At a time when our state requires a U.S. senator committed to solving the budget crisis, the last person we need is a politician with a track record of supporting raiding our children\u2019s savings account to avoid tough decisions.\u00a0Balderas is just another politician who wants to spend more on the backs of the New Mexicans he aspires to represent.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: Hector Balderas put the spotlight on his rural roots and his record as state auditor as he launched his U.S. Senate campaign online today with an announcement on Twitter and the unveiling of his website.<\/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":[156,107,116],"class_list":["post-28757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2012-election","tag-roundhouse","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28757","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=28757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28757\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}