{"id":3355,"date":"2008-06-04T15:57:00","date_gmt":"2008-06-04T21:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/06\/on-to-the-general-republicans-rally-around-pearce\/"},"modified":"2008-06-04T15:57:00","modified_gmt":"2008-06-04T21:57:00","slug":"on-to-the-general-republicans-rally-around-pearce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/06\/on-to-the-general-republicans-rally-around-pearce\/","title":{"rendered":"On to the general: Republicans rally around Pearce"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Heather Wilson<\/a> and Pete Domenici<\/a> moved quickly today to endorse Steve Pearce<\/a> in the U.S. Senate race following his victory in Tuesday\u2019s primary as special-interest groups on the left and right set their sights on Pearce and Democratic candidate Tom Udall<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Pearce is ahead of Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> by about 3,000 votes, 51 percent to 49 percent, and Wilson cannot come back to win. Pearce\u2019s victory sets the stage for an epic battle with Udall that will likely include millions of dollars in advertising by independent groups in what analysts call one of the hottest Senate races in the nation.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI want to thank Heather Wilson for running a spirited race,\u201d Pearce said in a statement released today by his campaign. \u201cAs we said in the debates, we will now move forward with the help of Heather Wilson, Pete Domenici and a unified New Mexico Republican Party to win the U.S. Senate seat for people of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Udall said in an interview that the poor economic situation in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> will help him win in November.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt appears to me that this is going to be a choice — do you want a continuation of the policies that got us into the situation that we\u2019re in or do you want a new direction? I\u2019m for a new direction, and it looks to me like my opponent is for the status quo,\u201d Udall said.<\/p>\n

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

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a>, who will help lead the charge to elect Udall in November, agreed.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThere are very clear distinctions between the two on policy,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cI think the odds are in favor of Tom Udall because he is more in sync with the needs of New Mexicans. Steve Pearce not only was a Tom Delay lackey, but he was also in lock step with George Bush, and the American people are going to soundly reject the policies of George Bush.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Special-interest groups were quick to strike at Pearce and Udall today. The liberal Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, which has been running TV and radio ads<\/a> attacking Wilson and Pearce for months, will now focus on Pearce\u2019s environmental record.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cPearce is absolutely irredeemable. He never votes to protect the environment if big oil and other special interests want something else. He is an anti-environmental extremist in the true sense of the phrase,\u201d Rodger Schlickeisen, president of the group, said in a news release.<\/p>\n

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

Meanwhile, the conservative Club for Growth, which spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to run TV ads attacking Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> in the primary, sent out a news release<\/a> praising Pearce and attacking Udall as \u201can inveterate liberal who has voted for tax increases and government spending.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cClub for Growth members are proud to have supported an economic conservative like Steve Pearce in his primary win,\u201d President Pat Toomey said. \u201c\u2026 The general election will be competitive, but we are confident that New Mexicans will rally to Steve Pearce when they hear about his record of fighting for the prosperity, jobs and opportunity that come from free enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Domenici, Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> endorse Pearce<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Despite the negative campaigns Wilson and Pearce ran against each other, Republicans were quick today to rally around Pearce and set their sights on Udall. Domenici, who endorsed Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> in the primary, put out a news release today pledging his support for Pearce. <\/p>\n

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

\u201cI look forward to doing all I can to support Congressman Pearce\u2019s candidacy in the general election and help him become our state\u2019s next U.S.<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> senator,\u201d Domenici said. \u201cI believe his tenacity during the primary season proves he has what it takes to wage a battle to win in November.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was also quick, in a statement conceding the race, to back Pearce.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cRepublicans have made their choice and I gladly accept it,\u201d she said. \u201cI congratulate and commend Congressman Pearce and wish him all the best. He has my support and my endorsement as he campaigns for the United States Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs Republicans, we fight hard for the things we believe in,\u201d Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cWe also close ranks quickly when the people have spoken. As members of this great party, we have no time for disappointment or for bitterness. We have work to do and a charge to keep.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Udall has outraised the Republican candidates in the first few months of the year and saved most of his money, because he did not have a primary, while they spent theirs. In addition, several polls have shown Udall with a huge lead<\/a> over Pearce in a general-election contest. But analysts say the gap will narrow as November approaches.<\/p>\n

\n

What\u2019s next for Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>?<\/span><\/p>\n

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

One question many are asking is what\u2019s next for Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. She will leave the U.S. House at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

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

Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> gave few clues in the statement she released.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhile I certainly would have preferred to declare victory tonight, I remain very positive about the future of our nation and our great state,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m sure all of you can understand that the beautiful silver lining for us tonight is that I can look forward to watching less mud wrestling in Washington and more soccer\u2026 and softball\u2026 and tennis\u2026 and baseball\u2026 and basketball here in Albuquerque.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Domenici said only that he expects that Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s days as a \u201cpublic servant are far from over.\u201d He may be right: There\u2019s already talk of another job in Washington<\/st1:state> for Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. <\/p>\n

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

U.S. Rep. Tom Davis<\/a>, R-Va., suggested today that Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> might make a good running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain<\/a>. You can read more about that from the Wall Street Journal<\/a> and New Mexico Independent<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

Wilson<\/st1:city>, Davis<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said, might help balance the ticket and broaden McCain\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Davis was a Democrat.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heather Wilson and Pete Domenici moved quickly today to endorse Steve Pearce in the U.S. Senate race following his victory in Tuesday\u2019s primary as special-interest groups on the left and right set their sights on Pearce and Democratic candidate Tom Udall. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Pearce is ahead of Wilson by about 3,000 […]<\/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-3355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3355","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=3355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}