Former Republican Rep. Heather Wilson will not run for New Mexico governor in 2010.

Wilson announced her decision in an e-mail to supporters sent Thursday, the New Mexico Independent reported.

Wilson cited her work in the private sector and personal time with family as deterrents to running for office this cycle. And she added that "the Governor of New Mexico has no significant national security role -- an issue area that continues to be an important part of my life."

Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Minority Whip and one of the GOP's most potent fundraisers, used his leadership PAC last month to donate mostly to Republican candidates who are challenging Democratic incumbents in the 2010 election.

Cantor's organization, known as Every Republican Is Crucial (ERIC) PAC, reported Monday that it donated $2,500 apiece to five GOP challengers about whom the congressman and other national party officials are bullish.

They are Andy Harris of Maryland, a state senator challenging Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. in a rematch of their close 2008 race in the 1st District; Martha Roby of Alabama, a Montgomery city councilwoman who is taking on Rep. Bobby Bright in the 2nd District; Steve Pearce of New Mexico, a former House member who lost a Senate race in 2008 and is seeking to reclaim his old 2nd District seat, now held by Rep. Harry Teague; Steve Stivers of Ohio, who is waging a rematch campaign against Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy in the Columbus-area 15th District; and Van Tran of California, an assemblyman who is taking on Rep. Loretta Sanchez in the 47th District.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and the National Republican Congressional Committee are going all in to help former Rep. Steve Pearce take back New Mexico's 2nd District.

The NRCC, which is bullish about Pearce's prospects of unseating freshman Democrat Harry Teague, gave Pearce $5,000 in the second quarter and Sessions chipped in another $5,000 from his political action committee and $2,000 from his personal campaign committee, helping push the Republican past $500,000 for the period.

Pearce raised $452,000 from individuals and another $55,000 from PACs and party committees to reach that huge total. Other House Republicans, including Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio, Lamar Smith of Texas, Spencer Bachus of Alabama, John Kline of Minnesota and John L. Mica of Florida, also chipped in to Pearce's campaign.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish does not have a primary opponent in New Mexico's 2010 governor's race and her fundraising shows how determined she is to keep it that way.

Denish laid down a marker Tuesday, announcing $1 million added to her campaign coffers for the second quarter and $2.2 million in the bank.

The campaign noted that "more than two-thirds of those contributions (68%) were for $100 or less," which it said showed "strong grassroots strength across the state."

Denish also announced last week that her campaign had already succeeded in collecting nearly three times the 2,163 petition signatures required to qualify for the 2010 ballot.

The NARAL Pro-Choice America Political Action Committee has announced its first round of endorsements for the 2010 election cycle.

The pro-abortion-rights group has endorsed freshman Reps. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Betsy Markey, D-Colo., Scott Murphy, D-N.Y., and Mark Schauer, D-Mich.

Republican challengers have already filed to challenge Heinrich, Markey and Schauer, and Murphy is expected to have a tough race if local GOP leaders can find a top-notch candidate.

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement that Markey and Schauer defeated anti-abortion incumbents in Colorado and Michigan, respectively, while Henrich "is likely" to face an opponent who opposes abortion rights. The PAC contributed $5,000 each to the campaigns of the four Democrats, according to the news release.

There's a bumper crop of House members who are seeking other political offices in 2010 in lieu of running for re-election.

Seventeen House members are pursuing other offices, according to a CQ Politics count that has been updated to reflect the Senate candidacy announcement last week by Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La.

Eight House members are running for the Senate, eight are seeking governorships and Rep. Adam H. Putnam, R-Fla., is running for state agriculture commissioner.

There now are two official candidates for the Republican nomination in New Mexico's 2010 race for governor -- and that field appears likely to grow over the next few weeks.

The latest entry is state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, who had been exploring the race for months. Arnold-Jones on July 26 sent a letter to supporters launching her run for the seat of term-limited Democratic incumbent Bill Richardson.

An official announcement is scheduled to come sometime later in August, according to local political blogger Heath Haussamen.

Many first-time hopefuls for statewide office at least go through the formality of setting up an "exploratory" committee before officially announcing their candidacies.

Not Republican Susana Martinez, the district attorney in New Mexico's Doña Ana County. She launched her campaign in her state's 2010 open-seat race for governor on Friday without going through an in-between stage.

"I'm ready to get to work," she said Friday.

Martinez has a tough road ahead in the contest to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, who cannot seek re-election under the state's term-limit law.

New Mexico Republican Steve Pearce will attempt to reclaim the U.S. House seat he used to hold.

Pearce on Monday announced that he will challenge Democratic Rep. Harry Teague, who was elected last November to represent the state's 2nd District, a 69,000-square-mile expanse of southern New Mexico that takes in Las Cruces and Roswell.

It's not a rematch.

Abortion right's group and fundraising powerhouse EMILY's List rolled out its first 2010 governor's endorsements Friday, giving its stamp of approval to Democrats Alex Sink in Florida and Diane Denish in New Mexico. If elected, both would become the first female governors of their respective states.

Sink, Florida's Chief Financial Officer, looks like she will have a clear path to the Democratic nomination, and is likely to face Republican state Attorney General Bill McCollum, a former 10-term House member who was the GOP's U.S. Senate nominee in 2000 and a candidate in the 2004 Senate primary, in the general election. CQ Politics rates the race a Toss-Up.

Denish has served as New Mexico's lieutenant governor during two terms under Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson and was previously the chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. She is the early favorite to succeed Richardson, who is term-limited, in 2010, though she is likely to face a contested primary and general election to get there. State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez is exploring a Democratic bid and a handful of Republicans -- Albuquerque financial adviser and Army National Guard brigadier general Greg Zanetti, former state Republican chairman and Albuquerque businessman Allen Weh, State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones and former Congress members Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson are all declared or considering run. CQ rates the race Democrat Favored.