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Heinrich and Wilson up big, Chávez slipping, polls find
The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Martin Heinrich and Heather Wilson both have big leads; meanwhile, Marty Chávez is 13 points behind his two opponents, who are tied, in the new Albuquerque Journal poll. Another poll confirms a tight race for a Clovis-area state Senate seat.
Polls conducted for the Albuquerque Journal confirm that U.S. Senate candidates Martin Heinrich and Heather Wilson have big leads in their respective primaries and, in the Democratic 1st Congressional District primary, Marty Chávez is falling behind.
First to the CD1 poll. From the Journal’s article:
“Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff said the survey taken May 21-24 indicates that the race for the June 5 primary election nomination has become a two-way battle between (Eric) Griego, a state senator and former city councilor, and (Michelle) Lujan Grisham, a Bernalillo County commissioner and former state health secretary.
“…Lujan Grisham and Griego were deadlocked in the May 21-24 survey, each backed by 33 percent of the Democratic voters polled in the 1st Congressional District. Chávez trailed the front-runners with about 20 percent of the vote. About 14 percent of the Democrats were undecided.
“Results for the districtwide sample of Democratic voters have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.”
On to the U.S. Senate races. From the Journal article on those surveys:
“Heinrich, a U.S. House member and former Albuquerque city councilor, led (Hector) Balderas, the incumbent state auditor from the tiny town of Wagon Mound, 51 percent to 26 percent, with 23 percent undecided, according to a Journal Poll conducted May 21-24.
“Wilson, who held the 1st Congressional District seat for five terms before Heinrich, had two-thirds of the Republican voter support in the Journal Poll for the GOP nomination to the Senate seat. She was leading (Greg) Sowards, a Las Cruces businessman, 66 percent to 20 percent, with 14 percent undecided.”
The Journal reported that its poll surveyed 741 proven Democratic primary voters and 504 proven Republican primary voters “who said they voted early for the current primary election or planned to vote on or before June 5.” The Democratic poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, while the GOP poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
There’s been a debate about polls of the Democratic 1st District race in the last week, but surveys conducted by Brian Sanderoff’s Research & Polling Inc. for the Journal are generally considered the best in the state.
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)
State Senate race is also hot
Another poll released by a newspaper today confirms a close race for the Senate District 7 seat. There’s no Democrat in the race, so unless a minor-party or independent candidate files next month, the winner of the GOP primary takes the seat.
The Clovis News Journal found Angie Spears led Pat Woods by seven points, by it’s not safe to say she has a significant lead. From an article about the poll:
“Although the final tally of the poll shows state Senate District 7 Republican candidate Angie Spears with a slight lead over Pat Woods — 38 percent to 31 percent — it has a 6.86 percent margin of error.
“Additionally, about a third of the voters polled during the past 10 days said they still haven’t decided how they will vote June 5.”
This has been a pretty nasty race, and, according to the newspaper, many undecided voters “said they were bothered by the negative tone of the campaign.”
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Very true Mr. Goodenow. The worst run campaign in memory in NM by Mr. Balderas will be over soon. But there are many like myself who will remember Mr. Balderas and this campaign next time he calls asking for big bucks. We will remember how he took our money under false premises when we assumed he would actually try to win. He did not run a serious campaign but more like a beauty contest, which he lost. We will not be fooled again by this lawyer.
Well, on June 5th the most mundane U.S. Senate primary campaign will at last be over.
Hector Balderas will go on in 2015 or 2019 to begin serving as the best Governor in the history of New Mexico. And this 13-month experience will be a valuable part of the reason he becomes an even greater leader down the road.
Martin Heinrich had a four-year head start on Balderas in mastering federal issues and politics and in developing relationships with the people in Washington, D.C., who write checks to federal campaigns.
Mr. Balderas remains the best State Auditor in America. He has also shown us that he is an inspirational leader who cares passionately about the quality of education in our state and the upward mobility of all New Mexicans. It is already clear that in 2014 or 2018 he will put together an agenda of education, training, and economic growth strategies that, once he’s elected Governor, will truly transform our state and catalyze us to the greatness that is our latent potential. With Governor Balderas we will at last become not only an enchanted land but a land of opportunity where the American Dream is vibrant.
Martin Heinrich, of course, will bring in several million dollars to his campaign from June to September without even picking up a telephone. What he must do is get off the telephone, set his eyes on the horizon, and tell us what kind of America he wants us to build together and what policies he’ll advocate in the U.S. Senate that will take us there.
We know that Martin Heinrich will be the number one wilderness lover and environmentalist in the U.S. Senate. We know he cares about solar energy. And we know he’s smart. What we need to hear from him from June 5 to November 6 is that he knows how to help New Mexico businesses create a lot more high-wage jobs, that he will do so as a U.S. Senator (and how), and that he is deeply devoted to doing so. If he does that, he will win, and he will go on to be as great a Senator as Dennis Chavez, Pete Domenici, and Jeff Bingaman.
This is his potential, but it’s been hidden for 14 months as he’s spent all his time on the phone raising campaign funds. After 14 months as Clark Kent, Martin Heinrich needs to step in the phone booth and step out as the ethical, visionary, heroic, and get-it-done man of action many of us have long seen in him. If he runs as the statesman that he has the potential to be in the U.S. Senate — and as a leader who knows how to help catalyze an economic transformation that will benefit every American and every New Mexican – Martin Heinrich will win, he will deserve to win, and he will change history and change our lives.
Once again we hefor the the pollsters “how unhappy” people are because of the tone of the campaign in Clovis! I bet it has one of the largest turn outs! Not bad for a group of angry voters……..
I suppose it might make sense that Balderas has let Heinrich off so easy because he’s really just waiting for a better opportunity and doesn’t want to hack off the Democratic Party establishment by highlighting substance over style. Too bad.