Hey everyone,
Good news out of the Land of Enchantment today, as it appears Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R NM-01) is going to get a top-tier challenger in 2006. Joe Monahan (a prominent New Mexico insider) is reporting on his blog today that Attorney General Patricia Madrid (D) will announce her candidacy next week to take on Wilson. Madrid has seved as AG since 1999 and as such would be out of a job in 2007 due to term limits. Wilson, who first won the seat in 1998 won reelection in 2004 with 55%, in a district that gave John Kerry over 53% in 2004. More from Monahan (a smart and relatively unbiased reporter) on the flip side.
From "New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan",
http://joemonahansnewmexico.blogspot.com/
"Sorry Heather. I know. You can't believe everything you read on those blogs. After all, it was only in late August that we blogged that NM Dem Attorney General Patricia Madrid was a probable no go for a run against GOP ABQ Congresswoman Heather Wilson. And at the time it was indeed so as it came straight from the feisty AG herself. But, as the kids say, that was then and this is now. And sources we trust with our life (or at least our restaurant bills) say Madrid, who has pasted the state with paid TV public service announcements ranging from warnings about meth labs to Internet porn, will make it official next week while in Washington, D.C.
"(U.S. House Dem leader) Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have been begging her to run. Your blog interview where she said she was likely not to do it helped set off the alarm bells and the lobbying got under way in earnest. They have promised Patsy a ton of support and she is ready to take on Heather," declared our campaign veteran.
Republicans wasted no time sharpening their blades for Madrid who will finish her second, four year term as AG next year. "Yes, we will try to hang the Treasurer Vigil scandal around her neck. She had a chance to investigate Vigil years ago and didn't. That's a pretty simple theme for a 30 second TV spot and you will be seeing it," promised one fervent Heather supporter." (Mr Liberal Note: State Treasurer Robert Vigil has been caught stealing over $250,000 from New Mexico funds in the last few years. He has refused to resign, and will likely face impeachement.)
(10/13/05)
(note: The article continues on for a little more about the political situation there)
Madrid will be Wilson's biggest opponent yet, as she is a popular statewide elected official with an independent streak (she's frequently fought with Governor Bill Richardson in public on a number of issues). She won reelection in 2002 with 57%, and is considered to be a social liberal and fiscal conservative.