SANTA FE—Ben Ray Lujan on Tuesday celebrated a surprising double-digit victory in the race for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District seat, bringing to a close a primary contest that had become increasingly contentious and ugly in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s election. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Lujan with 42 percent of the vote in the six-man race. Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott—Lujan’s closest rival who poured $1.5 million of his own money into his campaign—trailed with 25 percent. A poll released last week suggested a much closer race, with Wiviott trailing frontrunner Lujan by just six points.



In a victory speech (see a few excerpts above) at the Hotel Santa Fe Tuesday night, Lujan—a Public Regulation Commission member and son of state House Speaker Ben Lujan Sr. —called for party unity and set his sights on the November general election, when he will face off against Republican Dan East. East, in his first shot at public office, on Tuesday defeated Marco Gonzales, a former aide to Sen. Pete Domenici. At least one Independent, Carol Miller, is also running. The northern New Mexico congressional seat is being vacated by Rep. Tom Udall, D-NM, who is running for retiring Sen. Pete Domenici’s seat.



"We must come together as Democrats," Lujan told a jubilant crowd of supporters. "I invite my opponents to join me in standing up for the people of New Mexico. I want to offer congratulations to each and every one of them for running a spirited campaign."



That’s a polite way to put it. The Democratic campaign, which began civilly enough, turned nasty in the final weeks of the race, with Lujan and Wiviott attacking one another in a volley of negative television ads.



In a written statement issued late Tuesday, Wiviott announced the end of his campaign, acknowledging that Lujan had prevailed in what had been "a competitive campaign from the beginning."



“This campaign ends, but we hope that the people of northern New Mexico will both demand and receive greater opportunity from our political leadership," Wiviott said. "As working people, we have the right to expect openness and fairness from our government.”

 

Lujan will enter the general election with a significant demographic advantage – Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 in the district. Still, Lujan told supporters that "the next five months won’t be easy."



"We need you," Lujan said, vowing as he did in the primary to work on ending the war in Iraq, implementing a universal health care and establishing a "clean-energy economy." He also sounded a populist tone, promising support for organized labor and to "refocus our priorities to the middle class and working families."



The Republican nominee East acknowledged Tuesday that he’s facing an uphill battle, but said he believes he can sway Democrats once they get to know him.



"It is a daunting task," East, a construction company owner, said from his Rio Rancho home. "We all know that the demographics are 2-to-1, but I believe when I get out and let everyone know that I’m a real guy, not a career politician, then I’ll be able to pull that crossover vote."

 

For Democrats, Lujan’s victory comes on the heels of an expensive, bruising and sometimes bizarre race.



Wiviott’s campaign had repeatedly questioned Lujan’s credentials, accusing the 35-year-old Nambé resident of relying on his father’s political clout to get high-level state jobs. Lujan’s campaign fired back with ads that questioned the affluent Wiviott’s business practices. Other candidates added controversy to the race as well. Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya accused Lujan supporters of trying to push him out of the race, for fear that he would draw Hispanic votes away from Lujan. And then there was the furor created by former state Indian Affairs Secretary Benny Shendo, who suggested during a recent candidates forum that Lujan was gay and actively deceiving the public about his lifestyle. Lujan’s campaign denounced the unsubstantiated accusation as untrue and a "low-class" act of desperation.



During Tuesday’s victory speech, Lujan’s girlfriend, Dawn Peavy, stood by Lujan’s side as he thanked her for her support.



"She never should have endured as much as she has in this campaign, and she has been steadily devoted by my side," Lujan said.



After conceding the race Tuesday, Shendo called his accusation "a choice of poor words."



"I probably should have used a different term, because I was looking at broader issues," he told the Independent by phone from Jemez Pueblo.



Shendo said he would support Lujan in the general election, but Montoya wasn’t ready to go there—only that he was open to discussing the issue with Lujan.



"I think we need to sit down and talk and see where we’re at," Montoya said.



Shendo and Montoya, who garnered 16 and 11 percent of the vote, respectively, both believe that a lack of financial resources put them at a severe disadvantage in the race. Wiviott’s self-financed campaign triggered the "millionaire amendment," which allowed the other candidates to collect higher individual contributions. Lujan, who was endorsed by Gov. Bill Richardson, raised more than $600,000. Montoya said that without public campaign financing, many qualified citizens are denied a chance at public service.



"Experience and background doesn’t mean anything unless you have the money to convince people that you’re the guy," Montoya said.



East, meanwhile, said he is looking ahead to "a spirited race and debating the issues with Mr. Lujan."



The Republican nominee said his priorities include creating new jobs in the district by brining home federal dollars for infrastructure investment. He also said the U.S. should begin pulling troops out of Iraq, but said the armed forces should continue to fight the war on terror in other parts of the world, like Afghanistan. East said his campaign will also focus on the country’s energy crises, which he believes should be addressed with nuclear energy and domestic drilling, along with renewable sources.