Domenici endorses

NM GOP icon gives Heather Wilson a jolt of political energy in campaign's waning days.

Sen. Pete Domenici endorsed Rep. Heather Wilson Friday, ending months of speculation on whether he would weigh in on the GOP Senate primary.

By Trip Jennings 05/30/2008

Sen. Pete Domenici strongly endorsed Rep. Heather Wilson on Friday, making no bones about his preference of the Albuquerque congresswoman over Rep. Steve Pearce, her primary opponent.

"I do want to tell all New Mexicans that today I cast my vote for Heather Wilson in the Senate race," Domenici said in a statement released Friday night. "Having brought her into politics, I have the utmost confidence in her abilities to serve New Mexicans and Americans."

Domenici continued: "As I said today in Socorro when asked about tonight's debate, Heather Wilson is the brightest member of Congress I know and I hope she wins."

It had been somewhat unclear until Domenici's statement whether Wilson had garnered the backing of her long-time mentor and New Mexico's senior senator.

Wilson said she had won Domenici's support during Friday's live televised debate, prompting a mixture of boos and cheers.

Domenici said his statement that he had become "increasingly concerned that, even after I asked that the Club for Growth not be allowed to try to influence this election, they put at least $200,000 in television advertising in this race to try to do just that. I continue to believe that such outside influences should not be used to try to influence the voters of New Mexico."

Domenici was referring to an outside group that has targeted Wilson for her budgetary decisions.

"I will never let you down," Wilson said of Domenici during Friday's debate.

Pearce is perceived to be ahead in the race and it is unclear what, if any, effect Domenici's endorsement will have on Wilson's chances for a victory Tuesday.

"It's coming a little late in the game," said Albuquerque pollster Brian Sanderoff of Research & Polling Inc.. "But there's a lot of undecideds at this time. It's the only endorsement that means anything now. He's admired by most Republicans. He's a legend in his own time. It's important for Heather to get it."

Sanderoff added that the endorsement may help Wilson particularly in northern New Mexico, where Domenici is popular with Republicans.

"In the 3rd congressional district, neither Wilson nor Pearce have had much exposure," Sanderoff said. Pearce is popular in his district, which covers most of southern New Mexico, while Wilson has fended off a number of difficult challengers over the past decade in her Albuquerque-based district.

"In this case, I can't think of a more valuable endorsement for the people on the fence," Sanderoff said.

Both Wilson and Pearce are running to replace Domenici, a powerful Washington lawmaker who has served six Senate terms and announced his retirement last fall after being diagnosed with an incurable brain disease.

Domenici, however, is closer to Wilson, having been influential in her political life. He hand picked her to run for Congress a decade ago.

A top aide to Domenici earlier in the day told the Associated Press that Domenici had been troubled recently over involvement in the Senate race by the conservative anti-tax group, Club for Growth, which has spent $394,000 on television advertising attacking Wilson.

"Senator Domenici has just had enough," Domenici's chief of staff, Steve Bell, said.

Domenici called on Pearce to demand the ad be pulled, saying some of its claims about the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, were inaccurate. The ad stopped running then but was still available on the Internet.

After the debate, Pearce said he has spoken with Domenici about the advertisement and "there didn't seem to be any lingering sensation." He said Domenici has told him multiple times that he didn't plan to make an endorsement in the Senate race.

"We'll wait to see what actually comes of it," Pearce said.

When Wilson mentioned the possible endorsement during the debate, Pearce noted he didn't receive the endorsement of outgoing Rep. Joe Skeen when he ran in a five-way Republican primary for Skeen's U.S. House seat in 2002.

"We continued with our message, and we were successful," Pearce said.

There was confusion Friday night prior to Domenici's statement whether indeed he had publicly come out for Wilson. After Wilson mentioned the endorsement during the debate, the debate hosts insisted that it was not an endorsement.

""Well, I was going on the Associated Press report, " Wilson said, explaining why she had stated that Domenici had endorsed her. "There was an earlier story this afternoon on Channel 13 that to me was certainly short of an endorsement. The reporter said one thing, but when I heard his words it wasn't clear to me. Apparently the Associated Press contacted his chief of staff and who said the senator was endorsing me."

Whether Domenici would endorse in the race had turned into something of a cottage industry among media and a politicians watching the GOP Senate primary, which pits two sitting congressmen against one another.

Blogger Joe Monahan noted on his blog Friday that at an ABQ Economic Forum appreciation lunch for Domenici, he was told by someone who discussed the race "with Pete (and) ... said the Senator expressed regret that Wilson, his protégé, appeared to be in trouble. "I should have endorsed her early," Monahan wrote on his blog.

Monahan continued: "In the end, Domenici declined to endorse Wilson. If Pete had come early, it would have thrown some nails in front of Pearce's bus, but Wilson's fundamental problem--an inability to connect with hard-core conservatives--the most likely primary voters, would still remain."
Through Friday, other media tried to unravel exactly what was Domenici's intention, to no avail.

"I wasn't with the Senator at his table and did not hear this conversation. He says he isn't commenting on a private conversation," a Domenici spokesman told NMI's Heath Haussamen.

The winner of Tuesday's GOP primary will face U.S. Rep. Tom Udall in November's general election.

NMI's David Alire Garcia and Heath Haussamen and The Associated Press contributed to this story.