SANTA FE — Harry Montoya may not have Ben Ray Lujan’s name recognition or Don Wiviott’s money, but the Santa Fe County Commissioner and former school board member thinks he’s still got a chance. So he has no intention of dropping out of the crowded race for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District seat, despite pressure he says he’s getting from Lujan’s supporters.



"Numerous phone calls have been made to some of my supporters," Montoya said in a phone interview from Los Alamos, where he was campaigning Tuesday. "They’re asking me to drop out… feeling that if I don’t do that, I’m going to split the Hispanic vote."

 

Lujan, a state Public Regulation Commissioner and the son of New Mexico House Speaker Ben Lujan, is considered a front runner in the Democratic primary but is facing a well financed challenge from Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott, who has ponied up nearly $1 million of his own money for the campaign.



Montoya, one of four other Democrats in the primary race, said that some of Lujan’s supporters — at the urging of the elder Lujan — have suggested that if Montoya drop out, he would receive strong political support to run for Speaker Lujan’s legislative seat. The House Speaker called that assertion "a complete joke" in a recent Rio Grande Sun story. And on Wednesday, Ben Ray Lujan’s campaign was equally forceful in its denunciation of Montoya’s allegation, calling it flat-out false and a distraction from important issues in the waning days of the primary campaign.



"It’s something the Montoya campaign is starting to spread around… I do think it’s something the (Montoya) campaign did deliberately as something to drag the tone of the campaign into the negative," Lujan campaign spokesman Mark Nicastre told the New Mexico Independent.

 

Nicastre noted that even if Montoya were to drop out today, his name would remain on the June 3 ballot. Montoya, though, said he’s concerned that talk of a premature exit from the race will give voters the impression that he is no longer a serious candidate.



"The one thing that is disturbing is that if people hear I’m dropping out of the race, they’re not going to be likely to contribute to my campaign," Montoya told the New Mexico Independent.



Fundraising has already proven a challenge for Montoya, who trails in that department far behind Lujan and Wiviott. The Montoya campaign last month reported about $72,000 in contributions.



"We have been having a difficult time," he said. "I’m not going to sugarcoat it, but we’re getting by. We’re going to raise what we need to do some cable TV and radio (advertisements)."



Montoya said he hopes those ads will be on the air in the next week or two. Lujan, meanwhile, continues to rack up support, bagging another endorsement from a former Santa Fe City Councilor Wednesday. He has already received a number of key endorsements from labor unions and environmental groups.