{"id":8674,"date":"2009-10-29T14:31:48","date_gmt":"2009-10-29T20:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=8674"},"modified":"2009-10-29T19:22:23","modified_gmt":"2009-10-30T01:22:23","slug":"spin-spin-spin-follows-wilson%e2%80%99s-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/10\/spin-spin-spin-follows-wilson%e2%80%99s-announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Spin, spin, spin follows Wilson\u2019s announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Former

Heather Wilson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Dems pounce on \u2018second-tier\u2019 GOP field; Martinez says she\u2019s the only one left who can beat Denish<\/h4>\n

Democrats were quick to spin today\u2019s news that Republican Heather Wilson<\/a> won\u2019t enter the gubernatorial race, saying it leaves the GOP field with nothing more than second-tier candidates. Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez<\/a>, on the other hand, was quick say she\u2019s now the only GOP candidate who has a chance to defeat Diane Denish<\/a> next November.<\/p>\n

But Wilson, in the statement she released earlier today<\/a> announcing her decision, gave little that could be used to back up the claims of either. The former congresswoman cited being satisfied with her current work in the private sector, volunteerism and having more time with family and friends as the primary reasons for her decision.<\/p>\n

In addition, Wilson is an expert on national security, and she made reference to the fact that the governor \u201chas no significant national security role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRunning for office and being governor means setting these things aside,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cTo every thing there is a season. I\u00a0will\u00a0probably return to public life at some point, but I have decided that I will not run for governor or any other office in 2010.\u201d<\/p>\n

That leaves four candidates in the Republican primary battling for the right to take on Denish. In addition to Martinez, Do\u00f1a Ana County\u2019s district attorney, they are state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones<\/a>, public relations professional Doug Turner<\/a> and former state GOP Chairman Allen Weh<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The state Democratic Party took advantage of the opportunity to pounce on them all.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeather Wilson, sensing the strength of Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, today decided she would not seek the governor\u2019s office.\u00a0The Republican Party, decimated after the 2008 election, is left with a nothing more than a handful of second-tier candidates for the state\u2019s top office,\u201d Josh Geise, the Democratic Party\u2019s executive director, said in a news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of who emerges from the Republican primary, the lack of experience in their entire slate of Republican candidates should deeply concern New Mexicans,\u201d Geise said. \u201cNow is not the time for on-the-job training. We need a proven leader to help New Mexico families weather these tough times, and none of the Republicans running come close to meeting that challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018More clear than ever that I am the one\u2019<\/h3>\n

Martinez, not surprisingly, had a different take.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Heather\u2019s announcement that she will not seek the governorship in 2010, it has become more clear than ever that I am the one candidate seeking the Republican Party\u2019s nomination who can build the necessary coalition to compete and win next fall,\u201d she said. \u201cI have a proven track record of bringing people together and winning tough elections in a county where Republicans are outnumbered nearly three to one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Martinez campaign was also quick to highlight a longtime Wilson friend who recently decided to help Martinez raise money. Though it\u2019s not an endorsement, a recent fundraising letter<\/a> Martinez sent out includes this quote from Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cSusana Martinez is a strong leader with rock-solid convictions,\u201d White\u2019s quote states. \u201cThere\u2019s no tougher prosecutor in the state and she has a real record holding corrupt public officials accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weh also put out a statement about Wilson\u2019s announcement, but his wasn\u2019t designed to capitalize on the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeather Wilson has been a distinguished public servant for this state and nation,\u201d Weh said. \u201cI am quite confident she is not done with public service regardless of this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The Republicans aren\u2019t stopping\u2019<\/h3>\n

Denish, for her part, didn\u2019t release a statement about Wilson\u2019s announcement. But she did send out a fundraising e-mail shortly after Wilson\u2019s decision became public.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Republicans aren\u2019t stopping. They are coming up with new attacks every day,\u201d she wrote in the e-mail. \u201cJust yesterday, one of my opponents attacked me on Twitter and another attacked me via Facebook. They\u2019re coming at me from every direction — and every medium — they can find! That\u2019s why we need to be prepared to get our message out to all New Mexicans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Update, 3:50 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ryan Cangiolosi, executive director of the state GOP, issued this statement in response to the statement by Geise:<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the course of the last 70 years, this state has been dominated by the Democrat Party. In return for their investment, New Mexicans have received a state economy in ruins, a reputation badly tarnished by an unending string of public corruption scandals, and an education system which continues to fail our children.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last six-and-a-half years, Diane Denish has occupied a platform from which she has been well positioned to champion meaningful reform.\u00a0 And yet the state\u2019s current financial health and reputation reflect that she has not done this. Therefore, it becomes increasingly ridiculous that the Democrat Party continues to portray Denish as a seasoned leader while at the same time arguing that she bears no responsibility for the current administration\u2019s failures.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the primary date nears, Republicans statewide will select a gubernatorial candidate with the integrity, experience and vision necessary to get this state back on track.\u00a0We are confident that come November 2010 this nominee will be elected to serve the people of New Mexico.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Update, 4:40 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arnold-Jones posted this statement on her Facebook page<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cHeather Wilson\u2019s statement of her intentions provides clarity and opportunity for the Republican Party and she has earned a rest from public service. Heather Wilson sacrificed her time and irreplaceable moments with her family to represent New Mexico. She served with courage, tenacity, grace and unmatched intellect. I hope she will find time to help define the path forward for the Republican Party and for the State.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: Democrats say Heather Wilson\u2019s decision to stay out of the gubernatorial race leaves Republicans with only \u201csecond-tier\u201d candidates, while GOP candidate Susana Martinez says it\u2019s \u201cmore clear than ever\u201d that she\u2019s the only one who can beat Diane Denish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[108,107],"class_list":["post-8674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-2010-election","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8674","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=8674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8674\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}