{"id":37921,"date":"2012-03-15T08:32:03","date_gmt":"2012-03-15T14:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=37921"},"modified":"2012-03-16T07:34:13","modified_gmt":"2012-03-16T13:34:13","slug":"gop-senate-primary-degrades-into-nasty-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/03\/gop-senate-primary-degrades-into-nasty-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Senate primary degrades into nasty fight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Heather<\/a>

Heather Wilson, left, and Greg Sowards<\/p><\/div>\n

Greg Sowards has taken the gloves off after Heather Wilson attacked him; Sowards also accuses Wilson of sending an anonymous hit piece to some delegates, but her campaign denies it.<\/h4>\n

With Greg Sowards<\/a> fighting for his political life and Heather Wilson<\/a> trying to knock him out, the Republican U.S. Senate primary has become especially nasty in the final two weeks before Saturday\u2019s preprimary nominating convention.<\/p>\n

Sowards has been particularly harsh, sending at least three letters and a flyer to delegates arguing that Wilson is a liberal who has been plagued by scandal and that Democrats \u201ccan\u2019t wait to drill down and hammer Heather\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sowards\u2019 attacks came after Wilson sent a news release earlier this month hitting him for \u201clobbying Bill Richardson for Obama stimulus money to fund his company\u201d and highlighting a news article that explored that issue.<\/p>\n

Around the same time, someone anonymously sent the same article to some Republican delegates. Sowards alleges the Wilson campaign sent it, which would violate FEC disclosure rules because it was done anonymously. It\u2019s a charge the Wilson campaign denies.<\/p>\n

Getting the support of at least 20 percent of delegates at the preprimary convention wins a candidate a spot on the primary ballot; it\u2019s also considered a sign of organizational strength and enthusiasm. Candidates who fail to win 20 percent can stay in the race by collecting more signatures, but they are generally not taken seriously after that and have an awful track record on Election Day.<\/p>\n

Sowards has pledged to stay in the race<\/a> regardless of what happens Saturday. But the former congressional candidate knows the importance of the preprimary. He has said if he wins on Saturday national media organizations will be on his doorstep<\/a> and he will have the endorsements of five U.S. senators within 10 days.<\/p>\n

So, in spite of a previous pledge to run a positive campaign<\/a>, Sowards is working hard to destroy Wilson\u2019s reputation among GOP delegates.<\/p>\n

Wilson hits Sowards<\/h3>\n

Wilson, who lost the 2008 U.S. Senate primary to the more conservative Steve Pearce, is way ahead of Sowards among primary voters. The last poll, an internal survey released by her campaign, had her leading by 71 points<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But delegates to the preprimary \u2013 generally the most active Republicans in the state \u2013 are more conservative than the primary electorate; they gave Wilson only 45 percent<\/a> of the preprimary vote when she ran for Senate in 2008. A Wilson spokesman said Sowards will probably get at least 20 percent of Saturday\u2019s vote and might get as much as 30 percent.<\/p>\n

You can question whether Wilson is lowering her own expectations so her convention win impresses, but she\u2019s also shown she\u2019s not taking anything for granted by trying to knock Sowards back. Her March 2 news release is an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an interview on KKOB 770 this morning, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Greg Sowards struggled to explain why he lobbied Bill Richardson for Obama stimulus money to be spent on his own company,\u201d the release stated. \u201cThe question came up when a caller pointed to a recent article that appeared in the conservative Weekly Standard that questioned how Sowards could publicly criticize the Obama stimulus plan when in private he lobbied for money from Obama\u2019s stimulus package to be spent on his own company.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can view that Weekly Standard article here<\/a>. In it, the author wrote that Sowards \u201cspeaks the language of the Tea Party\u201d and is a proponent of the free market. But Sowards makes the \u201cvast majority of his income\u201d from the government, the article stated, and, as the owner of several Las Cruces child-care centers, he has brought in \u201csome $1.6 million since 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the article:<\/p>\n

\u201cMore problematic: Sowards pushed New Mexico governor Bill Richardson to use stimulus funds \u2013 what his campaign website calls an example of \u2018Obama\u2019s socialism\u2019 \u2013 to keep that money coming.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sowards has attempted to explain the situation on NMPolitics.net<\/a> before, saying government subsidies \u201care so prevalent that it\u2019s impossible to stay away from them\u201d but he and his wife have used \u201ca business model that wasn\u2019t built on government subsidies to the point that we would lose our business if they were to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Weekly Standard article, Sowards was quoted as saying the state\u2019s involvement in child care left him little choice but to take the subsidy, saying, \u201cWhen you\u2019re in an industry subsidized by the government, if you\u2019re not involved you put yourself at a great disadvantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The anonymous mailer<\/h3>\n

The day before Wilson sent out her news release, two letters were mailed from an Albuquerque post office (view the envelopes<\/a>) to GOP delegates including Betty Russell of Las Cruces, a former board member of the local Tea Party and a Sowards supporter. The first, a personal letter from Wilson<\/a>, was identified as coming from her campaign.<\/p>\n

The second<\/a> included the Weekly Standard article and an unsigned letter attacking Sowards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs Greg Sowards a conservative?\u201d the letter asked. \u201cI thought so until I read this article about how he makes his money. I was shocked to learn that Greg begged BILL RICHARDSON to give him OUR money to benefit his business!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter ended with the note, \u201cWE the PEOPLE are Taxed Enough Already.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson spokesman Christopher Sanchez said the letter \u201cdid not come from the campaign,\u201d but Sowards alleges that it \u201cclearly\u201d did. He noted that both letters were mailed from Albuquerque on the same day and just after Wilson\u2019s news release highlighted the Weekly Standard article.<\/p>\n

Russell said delegates who had already pledged support for Wilson didn\u2019t receive the letter. Who besides Wilson and Sowards, she asked, would have the delegate list and information about which delegates support Wilson?<\/p>\n

Republican Party spokeswoman Annaliese Wiederspahn told NMPolitics.net the delegate list \u201cis available just to campaigns, and campaigns are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement to have it for use.\u201d So it\u2019s not supposed to get out to others like Tea Party groups.<\/p>\n

After participating on a call with other Tea Party organizations from around the state on Tuesday, Russell said she\u2019s \u201cconfident\u201d none of them sent it, but she\u2019s concerned the Tea Party might be criticized for sending an anonymous mailer.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\u201cIt<\/a><\/dt>\n

\u201cIt was an orchestrated hit. Breaking the FEC rules. I am honest enough to sign my campaign literature.\u201d \u2013 U.S. Senate candidate Greg Sowards<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIf it didn\u2019t come from (Wilson\u2019s) camp, then who else had the list?\u201d Russell asked. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s an issue of underhandedness to send out something that\u2019s not signed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow would we send that out? We don\u2019t have access to the list,\u201d Russell said, adding that, in Las Cruces, Tea Party policy requires the group to sign anything it distributes.<\/p>\n

Sowards said there\u2019s no question in his mind that Wilson sent the letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no, I wasn\u2019t in the post office or in her back room, so I can\u2019t prove it, but the evidence is painfully obvious,\u201d Sowards wrote in an e-mail. \u201cIt was an orchestrated hit.\u00a0Breaking the FEC rules. I am honest enough to sign my campaign literature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russell said she had to make clear for this article that she was speaking as an individual, not a Las Cruces TEA Party representative. The organization doesn\u2019t endorse candidates.<\/p>\n

Sowards takes the gloves off<\/h3>\n

After delegates received the anonymous letter, Sowards took the gloves off. In the past week he has repeatedly hammered Wilson in mailers, on his website, and during phone calls with delegates.<\/p>\n

The first<\/a> \u2013 and harshest \u2013 of three letters he sent brought up past allegations against Wilson in accusing her of improperly pressuring<\/a> former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and, as the former head of the state\u2019s Children, Youth and Families Department, burying a child abuse allegation<\/a> against her husband. It also stated that her staff was linked to an \u201cillegal voter registration scheme.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

That letter painted Wilson, a former member of the U.S. House, as someone who isn\u2019t a true conservative. It highlighted past votes to raise the debt ceiling and \u201cfund Planned Parenthood with taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second letter<\/a> stated that the facts \u201cclearly do not support Wilson\u2019s representation that she is a conservative leader.\u201d A third<\/a> stated that Wilson has \u201cneglected\u201d conservative principles and implied that she\u2019s not pro-life. The flyer<\/a> Sowards mailed out painted Wilson as unelectable.<\/p>\n

On Sowards\u2019 website, he accused<\/a> Wilson \u201cand ruling class elite Republicans in Washington\u201d of \u201cdesperately twisting the truth in their hit piece by the establishment favoring\u00a0Weekly Standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

He defended his business again, stating that Wilson, when she was CYFD secretary, \u201cde-incentivized the quality care of New Mexico children and offered additional subsidies for poor quality care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe policies that she pushed forward, created a \u2018join or die\u2019 dilemma.\u00a0Wilson helped force the Child Care industry into this situation,\u201d Sowards\u2019 website states.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\u201cDon\u2019t<\/a><\/dt>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t believe\u2026 false attacks about Heather Wilson. \u2026 I trust Heather, and you can too.\u201d \u2013 former U.S. Rep. Bill Redmond<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI am thankful that Wilson brought up the issue of subsidies, because it gives me a platform to talk about the destructive effect that career politicians have had on our lives and businesses,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThey and their obnoxious sense of entitlement have long crippled small business owners with unnecessary and burdensome regulations. It is the height of arrogance to attack my successful small business where we employ 75 people and care for over 600 children so their mothers can work and go to school…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Wilson to expect us to\u00a0not\u00a0accept the state program for low income families is akin to a grocery store not accepting food stamps, which could be construed as discrimination,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Wilson defends herself<\/h3>\n

Wilson has responded to Sowards\u2019 attacks with a letter from her husband and a phone call from former U.S. Rep. Bill Redmond.<\/p>\n

Husband Jay Hone highlighted Wilson\u2019s work for CYFD.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe sold her business to one of her employees and went to work on behalf of some of the most vulnerable New Mexicans,\u201d his letter stated. \u201cWhile Heather had leadership skills that the Department really needed, her commitment was deeper than that. We had been foster parents together and we have one grown adopted son who was a foster child. She had seen the tragedy of children who are abused and neglected first-hand and she knew she could make the system work better for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his automated phone call<\/a>, Redmond said his mailbox has been flooded with \u201cfalse attacks about Heather Wilson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t believe them. Take it from me. Heather Wilson is pro-life. I did the research myself. She believes strong families are the foundation of America, and that marriage is the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife,\u201d he said. \u201cHeather is leading the fight here in New Mexico against the Obama Administration\u2019s attacks on our religious liberties. Heather is a woman of strong faith and unquestioned integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I trust Heather, and you can too,\u201d Redmond said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greg Sowards has taken the gloves off after Heather Wilson attacked him; Sowards also accuses Wilson of sending an anonymous hit piece to some delegates, but her campaign denies it.<\/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":[156,227,116],"class_list":["post-37921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2012-election","tag-u-s-senate-race","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37921","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=37921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37921\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}