Field of second district hopefuls and potentials grows

The race to replace Steve Pearce in the Second Congressional District got much more complicated over the weekend with a number of people entering the race or announcing that they’re seriously considering it.

In addition, at least one candidate plans to enter the race later today. Here’s the quick rundown:

• Republican Bob Cornelius announced Saturday that has formed an exploratory committee “with the intent” to run. The native of Tatum recently moved back there from Albuquerque, where he was a former executive director of the Bernalillo County GOP.

• State Rep. Jose Campos, D-Santa Rosa, surprised many by announcing at Saturday’s meeting of the party’s state central committee that he’s seriously considering running.

• State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, also gave a speech at the meeting, but made clear that he had not previously announced he was running and was not doing so at the meeting.

• Clint Chandler, a Republican who works in the Las Cruces field office of U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, confirmed that he’s seriously considering running.

• Republican Ed Tinsley, a restaurant-chain owner and rancher, is expected to announce today that he’s running for the seat.

• Roswell businessman and former teacher Frank McKinnon is also running, the Roswell Daily Record is reporting.

GOP gets some candidates

Before Tinsley and Cornelius jumped into the race, no GOP candidate had formally done so, and, technically, neither is formally running, yet. But Cornelius didn’t move back to Tatum to consider and then decide against a run. And, though Tinsley has not formally made his announcement, he informed a number of supporters over the weekend that he’s decided to run. He plans to speak with me and other media outlets today to provide details.

Tinsley will have some big backers: The National Restaurant Association has pushed him to enter the race. Tinsley owns the K-Bob’s chain of restaurants and, after he lost to Pearce in the 2002 primary, he became heavily involved in the influential group, serving last year as the chairman of its board.

His biggest weakness is that he owns a home in Santa Fe, in addition to his ranch in Lincoln County, and he’s already being attacked as an outsider.

Cornelius, 27, said he’ll be traveling throughout the district in the next few weeks and will make a formal decision during the week of Thanksgiving. Realizing he could face similar criticism, having lived recently outside the district in Albuquerque, Cornelius is emphasizing his Tatum roots.

“When the party needed me to serve, I left home to Albuquerque to represent the party, its platform and its candidates to the best of my ability,” Cornelius said. “Now, I feel I have been called to serve my party, my state and my country in a different capacity and that is by coming home (to Tatum) and becoming a candidate for the United States Congress.”

He also praised Pearce.

“Congressman Steve Pearce has served his constituents well over the years, and I wish him the best as he seeks to become our next United States Senator,” he said. “Steve worked hard to bring in new jobs, fight the state’s debilitating meth problem and to support our farmers, ranchers and the oil industry. I promise to commit myself to these issues and build upon the successes Steve brought to the district. He and I share the same values.”

He said the amount of money he’ll need to raise to compete with candidates like Tinsley, who will help finance his own campaign, doesn’t concern him.

Chandler was in Washington last week to meet with party officials about a potential run. He said he has “deep roots” in the Second Congressional District, “as I am a Las Cruces resident, a Deming native, and my family operates a ranch near to Hillsboro.”

“While I hope to arrive at a decision soon, I am carefully considering the choice and will continue to perform due diligence on the matter,” he said. “My discussions with grassroots activists and elected officials have thus far have been very encouraging, and I have cause to be optimistic about fundraising. My conversations in D.C. were productive and very positive.”

Chandler has worked in a number of capacities for Domenici over the years and also authored a fiscal-policy paper for former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole’s presidential campaign. Before Domenici announced that he would not seek re-election, plans were in place for Chandler to join his re-election team next year.

Another Republican who is actively considering the race and expected to make a decision soon is Sierra County Republican Party Chair C. Earl Greer. Others considering it or being mentioned as possible candidates include Phelps Anderson, who, like Tinsley, ran unsuccessfully against Pearce in the 2002 primary; state Rep. Don Bratton of Hobbs; Roswell Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Mike Kakuska; and former Roswell Mayor Bill Owen.

Democratic primary gets crowded

On the Democratic side, Al Kissling, Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley and former Lea County Commissioner Harry Teague are running, and Cervantes is expected to announce as soon as late this week that he’s running.

Before news of a potential Campos candidacy broke on Saturday, most believed Cervantes would be the only serious Hispanic candidate in the race. If Campos gets in, there will be two and, even worse for Cervantes, they are both known as Joe and their last names start with the same letter. That could make things interesting.

Cervantes is more widely known than Campos in the Second Congressional District, but a Campos campaign would certainly take some support from Cervantes in what is expected to be a hotly contested primary, thereby boosting, at least to some degree, the campaigns of McCamley and Teague.

We’ll soon know what Campos decides. If he enters the race, there will be four heavyweights in the race in Campos, Cervantes, McCamley and Teague.

And McKinnon decided last week to run, the Roswell newspaper reported. His platform includes a focus on alternative energy, including wind and solar. He’s opposed to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership that Domenici has been so instrumental in pushing.

A free-for-all

The news of the potential candidacies of Campos, Chandler and Cornelius and the candidacy of McKinnon have all come in the last three days and surprised many who were beginning to think the field of candidates was fairly close to being set. But the Domenici dominoes continue to fall. Who knows when they’ll stop?

Update, 11:30 a.m.

Tinsley said he’ll make his announcement Wednesday, not today.

Update, 12 p.m.

I’ve also neglected to report that Aubrey L. Dunn Jr. is considering entering the GOP primary. I’m told he is seriously leaning toward running and plans to make a decision by Nov. 15.

This article has been updated to clarify information about Tinsley’s home in Santa Fe.