Dems pick Heinrich

Ex-Albuquerque city councilor set for general election showdown against Republican nominee Darren White who won by an even larger margin.

Martin Heinrich appears to be the Democratic nominee and will take on Republican Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White in the 1st Congressional District race in November.

ALBUQUERQUE -- Martin Heinrich easily won the four-way Democratic primary race for Congressional District 1 and will face Republican Darren White in November for the open U.S. House seat.

Heinrich took the lead early on in Bernalillo County when absentee ballots were counted and never lost ground, easily defeating challenges from former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and former state Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham. Heinrich won 43 percent in the five counties with precincts in CD1. Vigil-Giron had 25 percent, narrowly topping Grisham, with 24 percent. Far behind was Robert Pidcock, with 8 percent, according to unofficial  figures from the Secretary of State's Office early this morning.

White, the Bernalillo County Sheriff, enjoyed a cakewalk over his Republican challenger, state Sen. Joe Carraro, with 82 percent of the vote. The Secretary of State's Office had White with 36,286 votes to Carraro's 8,026.

White told supporters at an Albuquerque hotel early Tuesday night that it's time for a change in Washington, D.C. He took a swipe at Republicans, whom he said "had control of Congress and didn't get it done." Then Democrats took over and things got worse, he said.

The former newsman and state public safety director fired off some great lines to the cheering crowd: "It's time to shake up Washington. It's time to take on Washington. It's time to take back Washington," he said, "because we deserve better."

Heinrich told the New Mexico Independent that he looks forward to the race, saying he expects voters will rally behind him as part of a nationwide mandate for change. "Darren White is setting himself up as an extension of the Bush administration and that's a mistake," he said. While White may have harsh words for some in the GOP, Heinrich said, "I don't think he can run from the fact he was the campaign chairman in Bernalillo County for this failed administration."

The two face off Nov. 4 in what should be a spirited election.

Heinrich, a former Albuquerque city councilor who spent more than $525,000 to ensure victory, had substantial support from out-of-state Democrats and is expected to get even more. The House district representing Albuquerque has been in Republican control for decades, despite the fact that Democrats hold a slim majority among registered voters, and national Dems have eyed it as a potential takeover.

Similarly, White has received support from national Republicans who want to hold onto the seats they have. But unlike Heinrich, White spent little to assure his lopsided victory over Carraro. He raised a little over $600,000, and spent just $218,000, according to figures from the Federal Election Commission, and goes into the next phase of the campaign with almost twice as much cash on hand as his Democratic opponent, $383,000 to $206,000.

Heinrich's win was expected, as a recent poll conducted for the Albuquerque Journal had put him ahead of Vigil-Giron by 11 points. But a cloud hung over the election because 16 percent of  voters remained undecided with about a week to go. Turnout Tuesday suggests most of them went for Heinrich.

State figures show he has 21,509 votes, well ahead of Vigil-Giron with 12,187. Grisham was only slightly behind, with 11,694, while Pidcock had 4,130.

Vigil-Giron entered the race with high name recognition, and had likely hoped voters would remember her as the former Bernalillo County clerk and three-term New Mexico secretary of state. But her reputation was sullied recently by an audit of her office that suggested incompetence bordering on malfeasance, an audit she said was politically motivated by her opponents. She spent only $15,000, however, but still garnered more votes than Grisham, despite the $219,000 Grisham poured into her campaign.

Grisham outpolled all her rivals in Torrance County. Vigil-Giron did the worst in Santa Fe County, where Pidcock beat her by one vote, according to unofficial figures early this morning.

print Share

Register or log in to rate