To adjust the old saying, if Steve Pearce didn’t get any bad press, he wouldn’t get any at all.

The Line blog from the Washington Post basically says it’s time to stick a fork in this New Mexico Senate race — it’s done.

The only question left to ponder in this open-seat contest is whether Rep. Heather Wilson (R) could have kept it closer against Rep. Tom Udall (D) than has Rep. Steve Pearce (R). Probably but it’s hard to imagine either Republican winning in this climate.


Actually, it could be worse for the Republican, as it is in Virginia. The Democrat Mark Warner is a huge favorite over Republican James Gilmore for the seat. Chris Cillizza just says this:

O-V-E-R.

New Mexico is ranked number two on the scale of most likely to switch parties.

Oh, and Cillizza says Democrats have a chance to get to the magic number of 60 Senate seats:

Four Republican-held seats — Virginia, New Mexico, Colorado and New Hampshire — are either done deals for Democrats or getting there. In at least four others — North Carolina, Oregon, Minnesota and Alaska — the Republican incumbent is either tied or trailing their Democratic challenger.

That’s eight seats where Democrats have any even money or better shot at takeovers on Nov. 4. And, assuming they can reelect Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) they must pick off one of three seats to get to 60: Kentucky, Georgia or Mississippi.