Domenici Comes with Late Endorsement of Wilson; Will it be Enough to Overcome Pearce?

Early Blogging from the Duke City:
Good morning from Albuquerque! We're posting today from Winning Coffee Company in the Duke City's Nob Hill district, just a stone's throw from the University of New Mexico and, without question, one of New Mexico's most progressive communities. Making my way early from Gallup, I had a chance to get out and walk around the streets that comprise this special neighborhood, feeling an ease on my skin as the breeze cut through the shady trees and a warmth in my soul as many passers-by offered their hellos, seeming to welcome me into and onto their friendly turf.

School is out, and the summer is just around the corner. On 14 June, I'll begin the first of three days of training for the 'Obama Organizing Fellows' program, which will be followed by six-weeks of organizing for the Senator in the Land of Enchantment. I learned last Monday, officially, that I'd been accepted into the program and am extremely excited about the opportunity to promote the Obama Campaign in a state as critical (and winnable) as New Mexico.

Last Monday, I blogged on the small uptick in the level of Hispanic support for the Democratic presidential candidate that would be necessary to turn New Mexico blue in November (President Bush carried the state by a measly 5,988 votes in 2004). Such outreach will be best completed on the ground in the state's Latino neighborhoods. As an Obama Fellow based in Las Cruces, I look forward to employing my working knowledge of, and love for, the Spanish language to excite Hispanic voters about their chance to create real change later this year.

Will Domenici's 11th Hour Endorsement Push Wilson Over the Top?
In an unexpected move, long-time Senator and New Mexico political godfather Pete Domenici offered an endorsement for the senate campaign of Rep. Heather Wilson, his political protégé and Republican candidate in the race to succeed him.

Wilson finds herself narrowly trailing 2nd District Congressman Steve Pearce in all recently released opinion polls (a new Abq. Journal poll is slated for release on Sunday) but hopes that Domenici's weighing in will curry favor among staunch conservatives, whom, despite long-standing loyalty to Domenici, were leaning toward the more right-leaning Pearce in the primary. Wilson has labeled herself as the 'common sense conversative' in the GOP contest, but this, the same play that has enabled her to win and retain, albeit narrowly, her seat in New Mexico's Democratic-leaning First District, has not played well enough in her attempt to gain the Republican nomination for Senate. Primary contests typically draw each party's more active, extreme voters to the polls, and Wilson has seen her fortunes dim in light of Pearce's unapologetically conservative stances and undisguised appeal to right-wing activists.

Democrats Rejoice:
While it remains to be seen who will come out on top in the contentious GOP nomination battle, the Republican party in-fighting has been a cause of celebration among Democratic voters and, no doubt, the party's unopposed Senate candidate, Rep. Tom Udall. Opinion polls already give the fifth term Congressman a commanding lead over either Wilson or Pearce in a general election contest (http://www.nmfbihop.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1037).

Moreover, Udall recently went on-air with ads stressing his family's ties to the military and detailing his committed advocacy of veterans benefits in Congress. Udall also has a top-notch rating amongst progressives across New Mexico for his unparalleled leadership on environmental issues, and playing up his credentials on military issues encroaches on an area in which Republicans will need to dominate to have any chance of defeating Udall come November.

With several months between now and November, any calls of an assured Democratic takeover of Domenici's seat are premature. However, it seems increasingly clear that blunting Udall's momentum and uniting Republicans around their party's candidate will be nothing short of a Herculean task.

Reporting live from Winning Coffee Co., we're out to enjoy a beautiful late New Mexican morning. Take care!