DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told The Independent that this isn’t an indication that the group is giving up on the district, noting that the DCCC is currently airing ads in the race.

“The DCCC has invested heavily in this race, is running television advertisements right now and remains fully committed to Harry Teague’s campaign,” Van Hollen said in an e-mail. “Teague’s been running an excellent effort and the DCCC is continuing to work aggressively with his campaign.”

In New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, “the DCCC has moved its ad reservations a week later” according to Hotline On Call.

Hotline On Call reported, “The DCCC has shaved the size of its ad reservations in 6 districts where Democrats are running behind their Republican challengers in polls.” In one district where the DCCC is canceling a week’s worth of ad reservations, Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District, the Democrat is leading. In another district, Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, “Democratic sources” say the cancellation of a week’s worth of ads is because the Democrat is running strong.

A poll from The Hill released today showed Pearce leading Teague by 4 percent. Teague leads in the Talking Points Memo polling average 45 percent to 44.7 percent.

Pearce’s campaign says that the ads’ premise has already been proven false because of a faulty investigation by the ethics watchdog that accused him of wrongdoing.

Citizens for Responsiblity and Ethics in Washington (CREW) did admit that they failed to uncover a part of the story in the sale of Pearce’s company. Factcheck.org recounted what happened earlier this year with an ad by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund that made a similar claim:

CREW added Pearce to its annual list of “most corrupt” members in September 2007. The group alleged that Pearce “appears to have violated the Ethics in Government Act” for failing to disclose the 2003 sale of the assets of his company, Lea Fishing Tools, to Key Energy on the financial disclosure reports required to be filed annually by members of Congress.

After CREW’s 2007 report was published, Pearce sent a letter to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (known as the ethics committee) to determine whether he should have disclosed the transaction. On Oct. 11, 2007, the committee told Pearce in a letter that he did not violate the ethics rules. The panel concluded that Pearce sold the assets of his company — not the company itself. The company was renamed and continued to operate, so the sale of its assets did not have to be disclosed, the panel found.

CREW did not exactly give Pearce a clean bill of health. Pearce links to a press release from the group that admitted its error in not uncovering the letter between 2007 and 2008.

But the group says it “stand[s] by our original interpretation of the Ethics in Government Act.”

According to the Act, filers must report each purchase, sale, or exchange of real property or securities by themselves, their spouse, or dependent child when the value exceeds $1,000 in a calendar year [see statute here].  Contrary to the position taken by the House Ethics Committee in its letter, there is no exception in the Act for transactions involving the assets of a business actively engaged in a trade or business.  The only exception to the reporting requirement is that a transaction solely by and between the reporting individual, his spouse, or dependent children need not be reported.

Pearce also attacks CREW itself, noting that it has a liberal bent and has some big liberal donors.

The group’s list of crooked candidates in 2010 features 14 candidates, only three of which are Democrats. Two more are independents. One, Charlie Crist of Florida, was a Republican. The other, Jim Traficant of Ohio, was a Democrat. CREW’s list of worst governors features 9 Republicans to just two Democrats. One of those Democrats was New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

However, the group’s list of most corrupt members of Congress, the list which Pearce found himself on in 2007 and 2008, currently features eight Democrats and seven Republicans.

The DCCC ad also hits Pearce on his support of the Fair Tax. The Fair Tax would replace all other federal income taxes with a 23 percent federal income tax. The DCCC ad omits the fact that it would replace other income taxes.

However, there are questions if a 23 percent federal sales tax would work. Factcheck.org was dubious and says that the 23 percent number was “misleading.”

Washington Post domestic policy reporter Ezra Klein, writing in The American Prospect in 2008, was more colorful.

It would, to be sure, lower the tax burden on those making less than $24,000 a year. It would also lower the tax burden on those making more than $100,000 a year. Guess what happens to those in-between? The magical tax fairy waves her wand and increases their tax burden. That, apparently, is what FairTaxers believe to be unfair about the current system — it rests too lightly on the middle class. Indeed, in their own chartmeant to sell the plan, they subdivide the country into income brackets, the highest of which is “$75,223 and up.” That bracket, then, includes a schoolteacher making $80,000, and it includes billionaires like Warren Buffett, and those making tens of millions a year, like the Yankee’s Alex Rodriguez. As they say, there are lies, damn lies, and then there are FairTax statistics. We live in a country where the top one percent of the country earned more than a fifth of all income in 2005. In that country, rich does not begin at $75,223. Indeed, in 2004, about 60 percent of Americans made between $25,000 and $100,000. I don’t know what you call raising taxes on the great middle, but progressive ain’t it.

“New Mexico voters deserve to know the truth about Steve Pearce’s record and his plans for a 23 percent tax on the food, gas and clothes New Mexicans buy every single day. Steve Pearce is just out of touch with southern New Mexico,” DCCC spokesman Andy Stone said in response to an e-mail request about the ad.

“Once again, Teague is rewarded for his support for the cap and trade energy tax, the failed stimulus and massive debt with misleading ads from Nancy Pelosi and outside liberal groups,” said Pearce campaign spokesman Jason Heffley. “For two months, Teague’s allies have peddled the same unsubstantiated smears in a desperate attempt to save their loyal ‘yes’ man.”

Though Heffley characterizes the ad as a reward for Teague’s cap and trade vote, the DCCC has aired ads that help Democratic candidates who did not vote for cap and trade or health care reform (Teague did not vote for health care reform).

Republican Jon Barela aired his first TV ad today in his quest to unseat Democratic incumbent Congressman Martin Heinrich. The ad focuses on the national debt and job losses.

In the ad  Barela doesn’t mention his opponent by name, saying: “The Washington crowd doesn’t get it. Fifty-five thousand New Mexico jobs lost, and all they did was balloon the debt to over 13 trillion dollars.”

While this is Barela’s first foray into TV ads for this cycle, his opponent has already aired two ads.

Barela’s campaign told The Independent that the ad will begin airing today and will appear on network TV.

Denish’s ad is a positive take that doesn’t mention Martinez; Martinez’s ad mentions Denish by name.

In the ad, Albuquerque Public Safety Director Darren White, wearing a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s vest, says Denish “helped abolish the death penalty.” White served as Bernalillo County Sheriff from 2003 until he resigned last year to take his current position in Albuquerque under mayor Richard Berry.

The Martinez campaign says in a press release that the ad highlights Martinez’s stance in the law enforcement community and “Diane Denish’s record of failure.”

Denish’s campaign says the Martinez campaign “continued to focus on the same wedge issues that divide New Mexicans” with its ad.

The two ads and the transcripts are available below:

Here is the transcript from Denish’s ad:

WOMAN: I’m supporting Diane because I know that she has proven leadership in solving in solving our problems, starting with the economy, job creation, making sure that we have a great educational system for our kids.

WOMAN 2: Diane has the experience. She knows what it takes to improve our education so that we can compete and create jobs to keep the youth here when they do graduate from high school.

WOMAN 3: I’m with Diane Denish. She believes in children and education.

WOMAN 4: She is family. Es buena gente. And that’s the difference.

Here is the transcript from Martinez’s ad:

DARREN WHITE, ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR: Diane Denish helped abolish the death penalty.

PAUL PACHECO, FORMER PRESIDENT OF ALBUQUERQUE POLICE OFFICER’S ASSOCIATION: Even for cop killers.

WHITE: That’s why we stand with Susana.

DANA KOURY, RESERVE BERNALILLO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY: Susana backs down to no one.

WAYNE SANTOS, RESERVE BERNALILLO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY: We’re with Susana.

BOB MARTINEZ, PRESIDENT, NEW MEXICO FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: The FOP supports Susana.

PACHECO: New Mexico’s Prosecutor of the Year.

MARTINEZ: Don’t be fooled by the negative attacks. The old way won’t work anymore. This election is a clear choice between more of the same or a positive agenda to end corruption, eliminate waste, and put people back to work. It’s our state. Together, we’ll take it back.

Denish used the wrong numbers to back up her claim that Martinez’s office’s homicide conviction rate was “the worst in New Mexico” and that she gave plea deals to “felony drunk drivers” over 800 times in her time as District Attorney.

Instead, Martinez has a 95.8 percent conviction rate on homicides (45 of 47) according to the New Mexico Administrative Office of the District Attorneys and plea bargained 46 felony DWI cases down to misdemeanors according to files provided by Martinez’s office (pdf).

Martinez had said in a Las Cruces Sun-News article in 2004, “We will not plea bargain a DWI case.”

Martinez went on to explain, “We don’t pretend it is a first or second offense just to move the court docket along.”

Denish isn’t the first candidate to have her ads scrutinized by FactCheck.org. Martinez and Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh were both found to distort the truth in primary election ads.

CADA NIÑO” AD SCRIPT:

Susana Martinez: Me dediqué a servir como procuradora para poder pelear en defensa de losinocentes.

SM: Por ejemplo, “Baby Brianna” solo tenía seis meses cuando fué asesinada por su propia familia.

SM: Su fotografía permanece en mi oficina para recordarme que debemos trabajar día tras día para asegurar nuestra comunidad.

SM: Me presento como candidata a gobernadora: para que Nuevo México sea un mejor estado para cada niño.

SM: Soy Susana Martinez. Únase a esta lucha conmigo.

TRANSLATION:

Susana Martinez: I became a prosecutor to fight in defense of the most innocent among us.

SM: For example, “Baby Brianna” was six months old when she was murdered by members of her own family.

SM: Her picture hangs in my office to remind me why we must work to improve our community each and every day.

SM: I’m running for governor to make New Mexico a better state for every child.

SM: I’m Susana Martinez. Join me in this fight.

Here is Denish’s ad “Safe:”

Transcript of “Safe:”

You think your children are safe – because the sex offender registry lets you know if predators are in your neighborhood or working at your school.

But check again.

When a New Mexico high school janitor and coach were both charged with sexual contact with students…District Attorney Susana Martinez cut deals and allowed these child predators to avoid publically registering as sex offenders.

Today we don’t know where these sex offenders are lurking … because Susana Martinez didn’t do her job.

And here is another Denish ad called “Grain of Corn:”

And the transcript:

We’re just a little mom and pop operation.

From a little grain of corn we have been able to make a living and build a family.

Diane had her own business, she the struggles, the challenges, and the opportunities that we have because she’s been there.

She understands what you have to do to survive.

Some politicians speak with only words and she speaks through her actions, and I know that Diane will be an awesome governor.

It is still June, and a little less than five months until the the general election. Both candidates are seeking to define both themselves and each other — and so define the race for governor.

As new issues become part of the gubernatorial campaign, we will see more ads — both positive and negative — in the coming months. And that does not even count the other competitive races that will be on the general election ballot this fall.

Martinez’s campaign sent a letter to Denish campaign manager Oren Shur, making sure to put their press list on on the cc line in the e-mail, asking for a temporary cease fire of the negative ads.

Unfortunately, your campaign began attacking Susana the day after the primary election concluded with a negative ad, which has been proven to be false. We are setting the record straight on the crime issue and will never allow false attacks to go unanswered. But, we believe voters deserve an opportunity to hear from each candidate concerning their visions and we propose that both campaigns commit to only positive advertising through at least the end of July. There will be plenty of time to have a healthy debate about the differences between the candidates this fall.

The Denish campaign countered with their own letter, again also sent to the press, which said that Martinez had begun attacking Denish before the general election even started.

In fact, Denish was a big part of the Republican gubernatorial primary by all the candidates. Here is an excerpt from Denish’s letter:

We agree this campaign needs to focus on the issues most important to New Mexico families. While Susana Martinez was busy launching negative ads against her primary opponent, Diane Denish put forward substantive proposals to create jobs at New Mexico’s small businesses and to save the taxpayers $450 million through cost-saving reforms. For the better part of this campaign, Diane has been the only candidate talking about the issues.

In other words: Don’t hold your breath.

The Independent Insider podcast touched on the negative TV ads Thursday afternoon.

NMPolitics.net’s Heath Haussamen wrote on Twitter, “I don’t get it. Denish and the Dems are promoting my latest article, even though it calls out Martinez AND Denish for misleading spin…”

Haussamen is referring to this analysis where he says that both candidates spun the facts in relation to a recent ad by Martinez.

Here is a short history of these negative ads in the first week and a half of the general election:

The general election kicked off with a bang when Denish aired her first general election ad, which has since been removed from YouTube, that accused Martinez of “broken promises” and “putting criminals back on the street.”

Denish’s second ad continued the attack on DWI plea bargains; Martinez had promised not to plea bargain DWI cases when running for district attorney, but had done so.

Martinez joined the general election TV ad game with an attack on Denish that many likened to the infamous Willie Horton ad against Michael Dukakis by George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election.

And it’s only June.

If you thought that New Mexico would get a respite from ads after the primary, you were wrong. The Denish campaign has released an ad echoing previous attacks by democratic sheriffs on Martinez’s record as Doña Ana County District Attorney.

The ad says that Martinez plea-bargained DWI convictions even after promising not to during her campaign for district attorney. The ad also claims that Martinez’s conviction rate for murderers is “the worst in New Mexico.”

The ad looks to blunt the momentum that Martinez has gained in the final weeks of the Republican primary, beginning with an endorsement and campaign appearance from former Alaska governor and conservative icon Sarah Palin and culminating in a dominating primary victory over four other Republicans.

The ad accuses Martinez of “broken promises” and “putting criminals back on the street.”

While Republican gubernatorial candidates mentioned Denish and corruption in the Richardson administration in the primary election, this is the first foray into general election-style ads from Denish.

The fact sheet that the Denish campaign included is embedded below:

In both ads, Arnold-Jones says that unless they clean up corruption in state government “or we won’t have much chance to fix anything else.”

The ads will air on network TV in the Albuquerque media market and on cable in Doña Ana County.

The primary election is on June 1.

Here are the two transcripts of the ads:

VOICEOVER: New Mexico state government, a monster of bureaucracy and corruption.

Only one candidate for governor has fought the monster and won.

Janice Arnold-Jones has spent eight years fighting mismanagement and corruption. She’s the only candidate with the courage and proven leadership to get the job done.

ARNOLD-JONES: We have serious issues to solve, but the truth is, our first priority must be cleaning up corruption or we won’t have much chance to fix anything else.

VOICEOVER: Don’t believe the promises, believe the record. Vote Janice Anrold-Jones for governor.

VOICEOVER: Every candidate for governor promises to clean up state government. Only one is actually doing it.

Janice Arnold-Jones’ courageous fight for honest government has earned her the Lights of Liberty Award and the First Amendment Freedom Award.

The popular press called her New Mexico’s very own ‘lady sunlight.’

ARNOLD-JONES: We have serious issues to solve. But the truth is, our first priority must be cleaning up corruption or we won’t have much chance to finish anything else.

VOICEOVER: Don’t believe the promises, believe the record. Vote Janice Arnold-Jones for governor.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh’s fourth ad of the primary election focuses on jobs. In it, the former state Republican Party chairman says that “career politicians got us into this mess.”

The ad calls “a jobs governor for New Mexico.”

Below is the full transcript of the ad.

WEH: People here are hurting.

I’m Allen Weh…. I’ve built a business, not a political career. I’ve created private sector jobs.

The career politicians got us into this mess… and we need a job creator to get us out of it.

NARRATOR: Allen Weh, a jobs governor for New Mexico.

WEH: I’ll cut job-killing regulations, end insider deals, and cut government down to size.

I’m a Reagan Republican, and that’s the kind of can-do spirit New Mexico needs now.