In Time magazine’s “Races to Watch ‘08″ section of its Web site, and presumably in its upcoming print issue, the CD1 race between Democrat Martin Heinrich and Republican Darren White is mentioned prominently. Under the headline: “A New Mexico Republican Can’t Shake Bush.” Reporter Randy James writes:

President Bush’s unpopularity is a burden for all Republicans running for Congress this year, but few bear it as heavily as White, 45, the GOP candidate in New Mexico’s 1st District. So much so, in fact, that the area around Albuquerque could be poised to turn blue for the first time since the district was created in 1969.

White, the Bernalillo County sheriff, is locked in a tight race with Heinrich, the former Albuquerque City Council president. The seat is up for grabs after five-term Republican incumbent Rep. Heather Wilson stepped down for an unsuccessful primary run in the state’s U.S. Senate race.

Heinrich, 37, began the race with considerably lower name recognition than the two-term sheriff White, a former police officer who once headed the state Department of Public Safety. But Heinrich has done his best to use White’s prominence against the Republican by repeatedly highlighting his close ties to the president. White served as county director for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004 and hosted Bush for a May fundraiser this year.