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What primary? Wilson still dominates GOP Senate race
U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
With a commanding lead in a new poll, Heather Wilson remains ‘a pretty overwhelming favorite’ to be the GOP nominee for the retiring Jeff Bingaman’s U.S. Senate seat
Heather Wilson is currently cruising toward victory in the Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Bingaman.
On Tuesday, the left-leaning Public Policy Polling released a survey that found Wilson with the support of 55 percent of Republican primary voters to John Sanchez’s 20 percent, Greg Sowards’ 6 percent and Bill English’s 3 percent. Some 16 percent said they were undecided.
The poll, which was conducted from Saturday to Monday, had a relatively small sample size of 300 GOP primary voters, but Wilson’s lead is way beyond the relatively high margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percent.
As it has been all along. Polls released in July and April showed similar results.
Wilson, the loser of a bitter 2008 U.S. Senate primary against the right-wing Steve Pearce, entered the 2012 primary race in March with an event designed to solidify her frontrunner status that included endorsements from across the GOP political spectrum. She has only moved forward from there.
Wilson has more money than the other candidates. Though Sowards and Sanchez have spent a great deal of their own cash, Wilson is the only one who has successfully raised money from others.
Meanwhile, Sanchez hasn’t done much, at least online, since October. His website has seen few, if any, updates. His Facebook page hasn’t been updated since Oct. 13. He hasn’t tweeted since that day either.
And Sowards is just emerging from a redesign of his campaign that included replacing staff and unveiling a new website.
Can either become a credible challenger to Wilson? Perhaps not unless the other drops out of the race. Earlier this year there was an opening for an anti-Wilson candidate – some in the GOP think she’s too liberal – but while Sanchez and Sowards have battled for that position, Wilson has only grown stronger.
Wilson leads even if Johnson runs
There’s literally only good news for Wilson in the new Public Policy Polling Survey. Even among Republicans who say they’re part of the TEA Party, Wilson leads with 50 percent to Sanchez’s 22 percent, Sowards’ 6 percent and English’s 3 percent.
Wilson was viewed favorably by 68 percent of those surveyed and unfavorably by 17 percent. Sanchez was at 34/27 and Sowards was at 9/20 (with 71 percent not being sure).
Maybe that’s an opening for Sowards. He’s less known so he has an opportunity to shape voters’ opinions of him – but only if he can come up with the cash to do it.
Even if you throw Gary Johnson into the mix – and he has said unequivocally that he will not abandon his presidential campaign to run for Senate – Wilson leads him by 11 points, 42 percent to 31 percent.
If Johnson stays out of the Senate race, Public Policy Polling says, “Wilson looks like a pretty overwhelming favorite to be the GOP nominee.”
That’s reality.
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Well this is the very thing that gets Republicans every time. Why is it so hard to relize if someone agrees with you 60, 70 , 80 or even 90% of the time they are better then the person who will agree with you 20% of the time or less? If Republicans fail to realize change will come by electing people in the Primary that can win in November, IcarusPhoenix is correct there will be 2 Democrats serving in the US Senate from NM for a very long time!
Yes, I do think once Wilson is elected she will hear some things that she will act upon and New Mexico and her taxpaying citizenry will be better for it. Truth conquers…
Well said IP, especially when you pointed out, very insightfully I might add, ”-for the most part – accepted that she represented every citizens of her district, and not just the leaders of her party. Excellent, and I might add that objectivity and willingness to listen to others with diverse views is nothing whatsoever like Marty and Ben Ray treat people in their districts.
Mr./Ms. Leisner:
You think Heather Wilson is “liberal”?!? What perverse view of history and bizarre version of the Dictionary are you consuming? While a Congresswoman, Wilson tended to have the courtesy to treat members of the opposition party with as fellow delegates of the citizens and – for the most part – accepted that she represented every citizens of her district, and not just the leaders of her party. These are traits that more recent additions to the Republican Party seem to have set aside in favor of a vitriolic rhetoric and a blatant disrespect for anyone with the temerity to disagree with things that they simply made up on the spot, as well as the apparent belief that non-Republicans – or even non-extreme-right-wing-conspiracy-enthusiastic Republicans – are enemies to be conquered regardless of the cost to the people. Certainly Wilson tended to vote closer to the center than the bulk of her ever-more-out-of-touch party, but that certainly doesn’t make her anything remotely resembling “liberal”, and her non-Party Lockstep votes were mostly due to the generally-moderate nature of her constituents and her belief that she was sent there to represent the citizens of her district and not the Tin Foil Hat Brigade. If the Republican Party of New Mexico want to repeat one of the most obvious amateur mistakes they’ve made in recent years and nominate – instead of Wilson – yet another completely out-of-touch conspiracy enthusiast, that’s fine by me. Beating Steve Pearce for the Senate was one of the easiest jobs we’ve ever had, and I for one would gladly accept you handing us another seat by choosing a candidate that can’t tell the difference between party talking points and reality. Personally, I don’t want any Democratic candidate to have to run against Wilson, because she’s currently the only Republican who we might not be able to beat.
As a life long conservative, Wilson is not my candidate of choice. When she was in the House, she was one of the most progressive members there. Plus she already made one run at the Senate and could not win the nomination because of her liberal views. Her and Martin Heinrich are like two peas in a pod politically. The Republicans need to come up with something better then a RINO.
I think Wilson will win after she exposes some truths during the campaign. I think it is about to get real ugly for Democrats in New Mexico. Unfortunately for them, one reaps what one sows. And when it is all said and done, I think New Mexico’s electoral votes will not go to President Obama.
So Repblicans turn a blind eye to ethics violations for their candidates – what else is new. Put Wilson in the Senate where she can help continue the wholesale obstructionism of the GOP. Great news; (sarcasm intended).
Come on, Democrats, and help elect Martin Heinrich to the Senate.