U.S. Senate

The race to replace six-term Republican Pete Domenici, who served 36 years in Washington, D.C., becomes clearer after Tuesday.

Democrat Tom Udall of Santa Fe is running unopposed in the primary, but registered Republicans will choose between Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce. The winner of the Republican nomination faces Udall in the general election on Nov. 4. In a pre-primary convention for Republicans in March, Pearce received 54.5 percent of the 433 votes cast. Wilson received 45.5 percent of the votes.

Udall has represented the Third Congressional District, which includes most of Rio Rancho, since 1999. Before becoming a congressman, Udall was New Mexico’s Attorney General from 1991 to 1998.

New Mexico’s other two U.S. Representatives are battling it out for the Republican nomination. Wilson represents the first district and Pearce represents the second district.

Pearce of Hobbs has represented CD-2 since 2003. He is an Assistant Minority Whip. Pearce served in the Air Force as pilot and served in the Vietnam War.

Pearce believes the war on terror is this generation’s great struggle. Like communism and fascism before, global terrorism threatens our people, our interests and our way of life. Pearce says the first step to combating terror is to remain aggressive in seeking out and eliminating terrorist networks.

Pearce has consistently voted against tax increases and says he will continue to do so.

He believes families should keep their hard-earned money, not sending more of it to Washington.

Wilson of Albuquerque has represented CD-1, which includes a sliver of Rio Rancho, since 1998. Wilson is the first and only female veteran to be elected to Congress. She graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1982 and served in the Air Force until 1989.

Wilson says the first and most important responsibility of the Federal government is to provide for the common defense and prevent another terrorist attack. She also wants to secure the borders using a combination of people, barriers, technology and oppose amnesty for people who have broken immigration laws.

Wilson says she believes in fiscal responsibility and smaller government, leading to tax relief for all Americans.

U.S. House, District 3

Six Democrats and two Republicans are vying for the opportunity to represent the citizens of New Mexico’s Third Congressional District in the nation’s capital.

Tom Udall has represented the district, which includes most of Rio Rancho since 1999. The Democrat is vacating the seat to run for U.S. Senate.

In a pre-primary convention for Democrats in March, Ben Lujan received 40.2 percent of the 674 votes cast. Donald Wiviott came in second with 29.7 percent of the vote. Benny Shendo Jr., Harry Montoya, Jon Adams and Rudy Martin split the remaining votes.

Lujan of Nambe is a New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner and currently represents 11 counties in Congressional District 3. He has been the PRC Chair since 2005. Lujan’s father Ben Lujan is the Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Lujan led the PRC to several accomplishments, including freezing Qwest’s residential and business customer rates through 2009 and eliminating Qwest’s $85 “Trouble Isolation Charge” fee; helping fire departments get millions more in funding from the Fire Protection Fund; fighting for New Mexicans victimized by the health-insurance industry and opening an investigation into the insurance industry’s claims-denial practices.

He has picked up some heavy endorsements, including Gov. Bill Richardson and Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack.

Wiviott of Santa Fe is a developer.

For more than 10 years, Wiviott has committed himself to green building and green living. His signature development, The Lofts, features several innovative green building techniques to reduce his company’s carbon footprint.

While Wiviott takes a strong stance on environmental issues, he also wants to end the war in Iraq.

Wiviott has said one of the first things he wants to do as Congressman is put the “squeeze on funding” and get the troops out of Iraq.

Shendo of Rio Rancho is the former Indian Affairs Secretary for New Mexico.

He touts himself as a life-long progressive Democrat.

He has cabinet-level experience in several departments including education, healthcare, infrastructure building, natural resources allocation, environmental preservation and economic development.

Montoya of Pojoaque is a two-term Santa Fe County Commissioner.

He also is the CEO of Hand Across Culture Corp, which is a non-profit involved in community mobilization efforts. It has taken on a broader focus to include all segments of educational, health and social services programs. HACC was recognized by the White House in 1998 as an exemplary program for their work in the community in the area of substance abuse prevention.

Adams of Santa Fe is an attorney.

He was New Mexico’s assistant attorney general from 2002 to 2004.

Some of his success included suing to stop labor fraud and successfully obtaining a court order barring a construction company from conducting business in the state after not paying its workers.

Adams says ending the war in Iraq will be his top priority.

Martin of Dixon is an attorney.

He says he will support a foreign policy based on diplomacy and not on military action.

Martin pledges to work hard to ensure that both Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis and Los Alamos National Laboratories remain fully functional.

He lists restoring eroded civil rights as Americans as a grave concern.

In a pre-primary convention for Republicans in March, Marco Gonzales received 68 percent of 134 votes cast, compared to Dan East’s 32 percent.

Gonzales of Santa Fe is an attorney.

He worked for Sen. Pete Domenici for 10 years. Domenici recently endorsed Gonzales in the primary.

Gonzales says that with all three Congressional seats being vacated and Domenici retiring, the state will face a tremendous loss of experience. Gonzales says he will be ready on day one.

He believes that a good education is a key ingredient for the success of New Mexico’s children and he will fight to preserve the state’s rural way of life.

Gonzales received $500 from State Sen. Steve Komadina, a Republican of Corrales, for his bid.

East of Rio Rancho is a contractor.

He says he has the experience, education and background to help stimulate the local economy by encouraging businesses to create more and better paying jobs.

Regarding healthcare, he wants to work within the free enterprise system to find a solution to make health care affordable and accessible for all.

East believes that the country must decrease its reliance on foreign oil and look for alternative energy sources.

US House, District 1

Two popular Republicans and four Democrats are vying for the opportunity to represent the state’s First Congressional District.

Heather Wilson has represented the district, which includes a portion of Rio Rancho since 1998. The Republican is vacating the seat to run for U.S. Senate.

In a pre-primary convention for Republicans in March, Darren White received 85 percent of the 162 votes cast. Joe Carraro took 15 percent of the vote.

White of Albuquerque has been Sheriff of Bernalillo County since 2003. As Sheriff, he has been fighting crime on the front-lines. White waged war against gangs, sex offenders and fugitives from justice. He also has made reducing DWIs a priority and is an outspoken advocate for tougher penalties against drunk drivers.

White’s goals in Washington are to keep taxes low, change the tone in Washington and restore honor in politics.

White believes that cutting taxes will help the businesses, families and residents in Rio Rancho. Cutting taxes is the engine to economic growth, according to White, and that will help businesses in Rio Rancho.

White has received donations from some notable Rio Rancho residents. Don Chalmers contributed $4,600 to the campaign and Robert Gallagher, the president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, gave $1,000.

Carraro of Albuquerque has represented the 23rd District, which includes part of Rio Rancho, in the State Senate since 1985. He has stood up for the people of New Mexico fighting to lower taxes and decrease government spending. Carraro has championed issues, such as providing assistance to those with developmental disabilities and autism. Other healthcare issues on which he has taken the lead include providing mammogram services to low-income women, and proposing a breast cancer study to determine its causes.

Carraro supports the Fair Tax, which would replace income and payroll taxes with a consumption tax.

He says he is running for Congress because he wants to bring a change to Washington.

It appears that Martin Heinrich is the popular choice for the Democrats. He won the party’s most votes in a pre-primary convention, receiving 56 percent of the 1,204 votes cast. Michelle Lujan Grisham came in second with 28 percent. Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Robert Pidcock finished third and fourth, respectively.

Heinrich of Albuquerque served on the Albuquerque city council for four years, including one year as Council President. On the council, he has promoted growth of new industries and good jobs, fought for an increase to the minimum wage, strengthened our communities and cracked down on crime while maintaining the valuable neighborhood qualities that exemplify our community.

Heinrich opposes the War in Iraq, calling it a foreign policy disaster. He says the country must undertake creative and genuine diplomatic initiatives with all countries in the region so we can bring our troops home as soon as possible. Heinrich wants to make sure our returning soldiers receive the quality health care and benefits they deserve.

Heinrich calls the skyrocketing cost of health care in America a disgrace and it is putting tremendous burdens on citizens and businesses alike.

Sandoval County Commissioner Donnie Leonard contributed $500 to the campaign.

Grisham of Albuquerque was the state’s Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health from 2004 to 2007.

The department provides behavioral, primary and long-term health services, infectious disease tracking and prevention and state health policy planning. Grisham applied the same vigorous leadership and advocacy skills to raise the quality of long-term care in state-run and privately operated facilities, improve infectious disease prevention programs, garner more funding for teen suicide prevention and improve access to health care. She made these improvements without significant increases to the department’s budget.

Healthcare is a huge issue for Grisham, saying that universal access to affordable health care should be a right, not a privilege.

Her first priority in Congress will be to pass legislation giving all Americans access to quality affordable health care.

Grisham’s campaign received $1,000 from Gallagher.

Vigil-Giron of Albuquerque is a commissioner on the accreditation of law enforcement agencies.

She was New Mexico’s Secretary of State from 1999 to 2006 and from 1987 to 1990.

Some of her accomplishments include directing a statewide shift from electronic voting to paper ballots, resulting in increased confidence in New Mexico’s elections and reduced the under vote rate among Latinos and Native Americans by 69 and 85 percent respectively.

Vigil-Giron led the effort in streamlining the state’s elections process, increasing voter participation by 26 percent.

She also established the state’s automated voter records database and managed the development of one of the most advanced voter registration and election management systems in the country. 

Pidcock of Albuquerque is an attorney.

He advocates fair taxes for working people, affordable health care, making the Social Security system solvent and bringing American troops home from Iraq.

His healthcare plan is labeled as “Insure Plus.”

Under that plan, larger pools of those insured are created in order to reduce premiums; the government sets premiums, arbitrates disputes and sets reasonable charges for care and insurance companies pay penalties for delaying payment of bills and denying procedures.

President, Republican

John McCain is the Republican nominee for President in 2008, but New Mexicans have yet to cast their ballot in the Republican primary for president.

The Democrats had their caucus in February.

Registered Republicans will choose between Arizona Sen. John McCain and Texas Congressman Ron Paul.