Steve Pearce
New Mexico Republicans have been anticipating an announcement by
Steve Pearce, their defeated 2008 U.S. Senate nominee, about whether he will seek a comeback in 2010 -- either by running for governor in the race to succeed term-limited Democrat
Bill Richardson, or by trying to reclaim the 2nd Congressional District seat, now occupied by freshman Democrat
Harry Teague, that he left open in 2008 after three terms.
But the GOP will have to wait a bit longer than Pearce initially indicated. After earlier saying he would reveal a decision by the end of June, Pearce told CQ Politics Friday that he is still weighing his 2010 plans and will withhold his announcement until sometime between July 20 and July 27.
Pearce in 2008 edged then-Rep. Heather A. Wilson for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat opened up by the retirement of six-term GOP incumbent Pete V. Domenici. But Democrat Tom Udall, then the state's other U.S. House member, trounced Pearce in the general election by 61 percent to 39 percent.
Although this outcome may not be the best resume line for a comeback bid, Pearce's defeat was just part of a historically bad year for his party in New Mexico politics.
The state, usually a closely contested battleground in presidential politics, went to Barack Obama by 15 percentage points over Republican John McCain of neighboring Arizona. The Senate seat turnover, combined with takeovers of the House seats that Republicans Pearce and Wilson left open to run for the Senate, gave the Democrats a monopoly on the state's five-member congressional delegation.
Pearce, before his Senate race venture, had a solid election track record in New Mexico's 2nd District, a longtime Republican stronghold where Teague will be targeted in 2010 by GOP strategists. Beginning with his first race in 2002, Pearce won the seat with 56 percent, 60 percent and 59 percent.
-- Leah Carliner
To follow the 2009 and 2010 governors' races, check out CQ Politics' election map.
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