Albuquerque Mayor and Senate candidate Martin Chavez (D) speaks out on the state of the campaign so far. Saying that he thinks that he gets “a bad rap from progressives” for his pro-business proclivities, Chavez takes stock of the two potential opponents that local and national Democrats hope will also enter the primary, Rep. Tom Udall and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish:
Chávez said he isn’t worried. Denish has already raised more than $1 million for a 2010 gubernatorial run, and with Chávez abandoning his gubernatorial bid to instead run for Senate, he said it wouldn’t make sense for her to enter the race. He said he is “not concerned” even if she does enter the race.He also said he is confident he would defeat Udall in a primary.
“Philosophically, he’s so far to the left,” Chávez said. “I’d rather not have him in the race, but that’s a challenge I’d not shy away from.”
Classy for Chavez to use baseless right-wing talking points in order to put down a respected party player who would likely whip Mayor Marty’s ass in a primary battle. Chavez might want to take a look at the polls again and see who has more mainstream appeal in the state: him or Udall. Big hint: Udall would put this race in the bag for Democrats, while a Chavez candidacy would be surrounded by question marks.
Let me be clear: if we’re saddled with Chavez, I’ll sigh heavily and deal with it. But I think it’s extremely telling that Chavez is already speaking out of school and reading out of the Republican play book in order to prove his strength in a hypothetical primary. Completely and utterly unnecessary.
Against a candidate not even in the race. So weak.
Denish will get in
I am incredibly weary of Martin Chavez, this isn’t Nebraska, we shouldn’t be forced to deal with a Lieberdem here.
If Chavez gets a primary challenger, he’s going to lose. This message clearly shows his fear of getting a primary challenger.
sure they’re not as good as denish udall and richardson, but wouldn’t the majority leader, senate pro temp (if they have one) or the house speaker and majority leader be good candidates?
Udall should get in the race, and win, to spite Chavez.
Any speculation or comments from any of the other state wide office holders?
Martin Chavez has run for statewide office in New Mexico before – and lost. In the 1998 Gov race Gary Johnson (54.5%) defeated Martin Chavez (45.5%). We need a better candidate to “lock down” the New Mexico Senate race. I am still hoping for Bill Richardson to step up. The US Senate will provide Richardson a platform to be a Senior Statesman. A Richardson election to the Senate will also help the Democratic Party gain Hispanic voters, the minority group the Republican party has recently “thrown under the bus”. New Mexico should be a Blue State not a Swing State (politically and demographically, New Mexico has more in common with Hawaii than the rest of the Mountain West) but we need quality candidates. The New Mexico Senate race is a golden opportunity – we cannot screw it up.