Many of you know that I enjoy fundraising for candidates that I support. While it can be intimidating, especially when what many people hear of are the events that require the larger donations, it truly is a necessary evil that can make or break a race.

I worked something a little different for our Lt. Gov. here in New Mexico, Diane Denish (who WILL be our next Governor), that I think can be easily transferred to smaller local races. Follow along if you're interested.

Hillary Clinton will be jetting in and out of Albuquerque on Sunday for a big-ticket fundraiser organized by former Ambassador to Spain, Ed Romero, an Albuquerque resident:

At Clinton's fundraiser, invitees will pay $2,300 to be "sponsors," while "friends" pay $1,000 for the catered event of Spanish tapas, wine and sherry. Romero declined to say how much Clinton hopes to raise.

The guest list will include Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, former state Democratic Party chairman John Wertheim and former Ambassador Joe Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame ...

Payback for Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack Obama? I wouldn't be surprised.

Not quite as big a news roundup as last week. The start of the week was a bit slow, but the pace picked up near the end of the week.  Nothing as big as last week which featured the end of operations at the Albuquerque Tribune (still weird to walk by a newspaper machine at 3:00 in the afternoon and see a Journal staring out at you), but still some news happened.

Headlines

There were two Presidential match-up polls released this week for the state of New Mexico, and both showed Senator Barack Obama did better than Senator Hillary Clinton against Senator John McCain.  But both polls painted drastically different general election pictures.

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

Impressive, but that's actually only one of three impressive endorsements the Hillary Clinton campaign received today.

First, the endorsement of Alice Huffman, president of the California NAACP.

"Over the years, Hillary Clinton has earned my respect as a staunch advocate for the rights of people invisible to our nation's government, including women, minorities, children, and seniors," said Huffman. "Hillary shares my commitment to children, and has been a lifelong advocate for improving childhood education and health care. As President, I feel strongly that Hillary will create an atmosphere in this country that accepts and promotes the rights of all Americans."

Tom Udall has formally announced for the Senate seat of retiring Republican "Pajamas" Pete Domenici.  He is the odds on favorite to turn the seat, and every Kossack should rejoice that he has entered the race.  He made a stop in Taos yesterday, and I was there.

Udall has been my congressman for over a decade now.  I am lucky to have one whose votes represent me so well.  Against the war in Iraq, one of the few votes against the Patriot Act (so he says, I didn't check).  Environmental and energy issues are important to me, and he's good on those.  In fact, unlike Bill Richardson, who held the seat before him, he's been good on many local issues, too.  Plus he "gets" the erosion of the middle class better than many.

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 11/5-7. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines)

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Marty Chavez, the Democrat, and Heather Wilson, the Republican?

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Diane Denish, the Democrat, and Heather Wilson, the Republican?

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Tom Udall, the Democrat, and Heather Wilson, the Republican?

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If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Marty Chavez, the Democrat, and Steve Pearce, the Republican?

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Diane Denish, the Democrat, and Steve Pearce, the Republican?

If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Tom Udall, the Democrat, and Steve Pearce, the Republican?

Run, Udall, Run!

Full crosstabs below the fold.

Race tracker wiki: NM-Sen

For the numbers, check out the front page post by Kos.

More SurveyUSA polling was released today as to the state of the 2008 Senate elections, among many other things.  Notably, Tom Udall was taken out of this poll and Diane Denish was inserted in. Ah, irony (because Udall is reconsidering a run and Denish flat-out ruled out a run).

Martin Chavez seems to be coming on strong; while before he trailed both Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce (Pearce by a wide margin), he now leads both near the MOE. Remember, his announcement came after the previous poll.  That will give him a bump.  Interestingly, Denish polled nearly identical to Chavez against both Wilson and Pearce.  Denish was considered  by many, including myself, to be a much stronger candidate.  Though she may have also benefited from a post-announcement bump.

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

SUSA polls the hottest Senate races for Roll Call.

These are all GOP-held seats.

Kind of ironic that SUSA didn't poll Udall, since it's looking increasingly likely that he'll be joining that race. But from the looks of it, even our worst performing candidates in New Mexico would be competitive.

According to these numbers, we pick up Colorado, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Virginia. Minnesota would be a tossup. Oregon would stay Red, but with Smith under 50 percent it puts him in the danger zone. And Maine is still looking third-tier at this point.

Race tracker wiki: NM-Sen CO-Sen ME-Sen MN-Sen NH-Sen OR-Sen VA-Sen

Denish is out (at least for now):

Democrat Diane Denish, the lieutenant governor of New Mexico, announced she will not run in next year’s race for the U.S. Senate seat left open by retiring six-term Republican Sen. Pete V. Domenici , amid rising speculation that five-term Democratic Rep. Tom Udall might enter the race.

“I am flattered and honored by everybody’s interest in my considering the Senate race. ... [But] my heart and soul are in New Mexico,” Denish said in a statement.

Denish has long been laying the groundwork for a bid in 2010 for the governor’s seat now held by term-limited Democrat Bill Richardson , and she would move up to fill the remainder of Richardson’s unexpired term were he to succeed in his current 2008 bid for president or run for vice president on a successful Democratic ticket.

So what about all the rumors (and there's a torrent of them) that Udall is now in?

But Denish’s opt-out is likely to intensify recruitment efforts by a number of Democrats who view Udall, the five-term representative of New Mexico’s 3rd District, as their party’s strongest potential candidate to succeed Domenici.

Although Udall stated shortly after Domenici’s early October retirement announcement that he would not run for the Senate, he is the subject of a “draft” movement that has attracted interest from the Web-based Democratic “netroots” activist movement and interest from national Democratic Senate campaign strategists.

The statements of support Udall has received have him rethinking his original decision to stick with his 2008 House race. “New Mexicans have urged Tom Udall to reconsider running for the U.S. Senate, and he’s doing just that,” Udall spokeswoman Marissa Padilla told CQ Politics.

The support in NM for a Udall run is huge, and he sure sounds like a candidate.

Udall entered the hall to a standing ovation, loud chants of “Run, Tom, Run” and a multitude of waving signs urging the same. His speech touched on many of today’s hot button issues including Iraq, supporting our troops by getting them out of harm’s way, protecting civil liberties, holding the telecoms accountable for warrantless surveillance and providing expanded children’s health care. He emphasized that we need 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a Bush veto of legislation that the U.S. House has been passing on matters like ending the war and regaining and preserving our Constitutional rights. It certainly sounded to me like he was leaning towards running to take back the seat held for so long by Pete Domenci, and helping to make that 60 vote majority a reality in the Senate.

Then again, Bob Kerrey sounded like a candidate in Nebraska and he passed on the race, so nothing is a done deal until a final decision is announced. In Udall's case, he's said "two weeks".

On the web:
Draft Udall
New Mexico FBIHOP (group blog)

Race tracker wiki: NM-Sen

New Mexico has the opportunity to truly become the "Land of Enchantment" if Lt. Gov. Diane Denish enters the race for U.S. Senator.

Understand, she's in the drivers' seat regarding her decision. There is no other woman in New Mexico politics that commands the respect, admiration and popularity that our Lt. Gov. attracts.

After Pete Domenici's retirement, the effects reverberated throughout the entire state's political structure.  Not just in the New Mexico Senate race, or even the First and Second Congressional districts, but all the way down the line.

After taking looks at the aforementioned races in previous days, today I turn my attention from those seeking seats in Washington DC to those seeking setting their sites on a different capital -- Santa Fe, and the governor's mansion currently occupied by Bill Richardson.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the final part of my five part series on Domenici Retirement echo effect: this time on local races.  

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

Good. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is considering the race, and will take this week to decide. Given the cool reception that Martin Chavez is getting in progressive circles, I've got my fingers crossed that she gets in.

“The compelling argument is this: The country is in a mess and what we need is really good candidates to step forward,” Denish said today in an interview. “If the country wasn’t in a crisis, I think I would not blink an eye (in deciding against running for Senate), but I think building a stronger majority in the Senate is a real priority at this time.”

Denish, a Democrat, told me several months ago that she had no interest in leaving New Mexico for Washington. She told me today that she’s still not certain she does have such interest because she loves New Mexico. But a lot of people are arguing that she is the Democrat who can defeat a Republican in a Senate race next year.

And Democrats in Washington are trying to convince Denish that such potential candidates must step forward, for the good of their country [...]

“This should be about getting the best candidates who can run strong races and win the Senate seat for New Mexico, so we can be part of the change that’s going to happen in 2009,” she said. “It’s a very personal decision, and I’m not an instant decision-maker about life changes like this." [...]

Denish said she has always worked as an executive – in business and government – and she sees herself “as more suited for that.” However, with a stronger Democratic majority in Congress, there is real opportunity for health-care reform and positive steps in foreign policy and changing course in Iraq, she said.

Reading through that piece, it sounds like she's leaning toward running (even though she denies it). She seems to understand that with Richardson and Udall out, she's the best progressive hope for the state at a time when Democrats should be able to make serious gains with larger majorities and hopefully the White House.

I've got my fingers crossed.

Race tracker wiki: NM-Sen

If there is any ethusiasm whatsoever about the prospect of Marty Chanez running for the US Senate, this poll by Survey USA as reported by New Mexico blogger Joe Monahan.

The hottest Senate news in the past week have undoubtedly come from New Mexico. Pete Domenici announced his surprise retirement, followed in quick succession by Republican Rep. Heather Wilson announcing a run and Democratic Rep. Mark Udall announced he would not. Today, Democrats seem on the verge of getting one of their strong candidates in the race: Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez is likely to announce tomorrow morning that he will run for the seat.

Full analysis here.

When Sen. Pete Domenici announced his retirement, the talk almost immediately turned to who would replace the departing Senator.  The seat has been in the hands of the hawkish Republican for decades, with little hope of that changing for many of those years.

Now, there should be a large group of politicians jostling about in hopes of becoming the next Senator from New Mexico. It has been less than a full week since news of Domenici's retirement leaked, and already we have Heather Wilson announcing her candidacy and many other politicians mulling their options.

We'll start out with the potentially crowded field of Democrats, with some heavy hitters headlining the field.  Read about it under the fold.  And read tomorrow for a look at how all this affects the House districts.

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP.