NRCC MEMO: NEW MEXICO PRIMARY RESULTS
TO: INTERESTED PARTIES
FROM: NRCC POLITICAL AND NRCC COMMUNICATIONS
DATE: JUNE 1, 2010
SUBJECT: NEW MEXICO PRIMARY RESULTS
After years of Democrat-control in New Mexico, voters went to the polls today to select the candidates that will offer a clear alternative to the reckless spending, taxing and borrowing that has hurt New Mexico’s economy for years. Led by a hotly-contested governor’s race, New Mexico voters are eager to elect new leadership that will bring back jobs and end government takeovers. The two competitive congressional seats in the state are already exciting contests. In the first district, freshman Martin Heinrich will face NRCC Young Gun and small business owner Jon Barela; both were unopposed in the primary. In the second district, freshman Harry Teague will be facing former Congressman and NRCC Young Gun Steve Pearce. With such impressive candidates, New Mexico’s congressional seats are prime for Republican takeovers.
Challengers:
NM-01 (Rep. Martin Heinrich, D)
Freshman Martin Heinrich became the first Democrat to represent New Mexico’s First Congressional District in 2008. Voting with Nancy Pelosi 97.3 percent of the time, Heinrich has proven his loyalty to his radical party bosses in just a short time. Heinrich will have a difficult time defending his liberal record and progressive ideology to voters in this moderate, swing district. His re-election becomes even more unstable when you consider his Republican opponent’s crossover appeal to Democrats, Hispanics and Independents.
Republican Jon Barela is a Hispanic small business owner and past chairman of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce. Barela has made competitiveness and improving education central themes in his chairmanship of several significant organizations, including the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce (one of the country’s largest Hispanic chambers), New Mexico First (the state’s leading nonpartisan public policy group), New Mexico’s Work Force Development Board and the Albuquerque Public Schools Foundation. He most recently served on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board, helping oversee operations of one of the country’s largest school districts. Barela is among the first GOP candidates across the country to achieve ‘Young Gun’ status, the top tier of the NRCC’s three-level Young Guns recruitment program. Barela has built strong grassroots and coalitions networks, including prominent Democrats for Barela and Hispanics for Barela coalitions.
History. John Kerry won the First District with 51% of the vote in 2004 and Barack Obama swept the district with 60% of the vote in 2008. Although the district tends to vote Democratic in presidential elections, Heinrich is the first Democrat Congressman ever to serve New Mexico’s First District since it was created in 1969. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+5 and is rated by Rothenberg Political Report as “Leans Democratic.”
Geography. The First Congressional District covers the central part of New Mexico, including Albuquerque.
NM-02 (Rep. Harry Teague, D)
Freshman Democrat Harry Teague has served as a loyal rubber-stamp to the Democrats’ radical agenda, voting with Nancy Pelosi 90 percent of the time since being elected in 2008. Before Teague, this conservative district, which Rothenberg Political Report rates as “Lean Republican,” was represented by a Republican for 28 years. In just a short time in Congress, Teague has recklessly supported a Democrat agenda that has borrowed too much, spent too much and taxed too much, making him one of the most vulnerable Democrats in Congress. As a consequence, New Mexico families have felt the sting of high unemployment and a sluggish economy and are fed up with Teague’s reckless agenda.
Tonight, Republicans have overwhelmingly chosen former Congressman Steve Pearce to face Harry Teague in the general election in November. Pearce was elected to serve New Mexico’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002. Before his time in Congress, Pearce served in the New Mexico House of Representatives for two terms, beginning in 1996 and was an Air Force pilot in Vietnam. In only nine months, Pearce’s campaign has raised over $1 million. Among the first GOP candidates across the country to achieve ‘Young Gun’ status, Steve Pearce is in the top tier of the NRCC’s three-level Young Guns recruitment program. Pearce’s fundraising numbers, strong grassroots support and successful campaign organization prove that his message of turning our economy around and ending wasteful spending is resonating throughout Southern New Mexico.
History. Congressman Harry Teague represents a district that George W. Bush won in 2004 with 58% of the vote and John McCain won in 2008 with 50%. The most historically conservative district in New Mexico, this district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+6.
Geography. The Second Congressional District covers the southern half of New Mexico, including Las Cruces, Hobbs, Roswell, and the southern part of Albuquerque. The Second District represents the sixth largest district in the nation geographically, and the second largest not to comprise an entire state.
Election Results:
The following are the unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary election in New Mexico. These results are UNOFFICIAL AND INCOMPLETE until certified by the New Mexico Secretary of State.
*Denotes winner
NM-02 (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY)
44.6% Precincts Reporting
Steve Pearce, 17,236, 83.7%*
Cliff Pirtle, 3,354, 16.3%