In New Mexico's Second Congressional District which covers the southern half of the Land of Enchantment, former GOP Congressman Steve Pearce announced plans to seek his old seat back. Mr. Pearce held the seat for three terms (2003-2009). In 2008, he was the Republican candidate for US Senate race, a race he lost to Democrat Tom Udall.
The seat is now held by Congressman Harry Teague, a Democrat and a former oil company executive, who took 55% of the vote over his GOP challenger, Ed Tinsley.
The district has traditionally leaned Republican and it includes Hobbs, Roswell, Carlsbad, Las Cruces and the southern fourth of Albuquerque. Congressman Teague is the first Democrat to represent the Second Congressional District in 28 years.
From KDBC-El Paso/Las Cruces:
Steve Pearce of Hobbs, who represented New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District for three terms, wants the job again.Pearce announced Monday he is signing paperwork to seek the Republican nomination for the seat he gave up last year to run for the U.S. Senate.
Pearce did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
Last week, he said that he was trying to decide whether to run for governor or Congress, but would do what was best for the Republican Party.
Pearce lost in November to Democrat Tom Udall to fill the seat being vacated by longtime Sen. Pete Domenici.
Democrat Harry Teague succeeded Pearce in the southern New Mexico district.
Pearce, in an e-mail sent by People for Pearce, says he is disappointed in Teague's voting record in his first six months in office.
Steve Pearce also told Politico that Teague's decision to vote in favor of cap-and-trade energy legislation caused him to rethink his race for New Mexico's statehouse and opt instead for his old seat.
"The cap-and-trade vote [from Teague] is the thing that put my decision over the hump," Pearce said in an interview with POLITICO. "I was absolutely stunned over his vote. When he made the cap-and-trade vote, the hostility in the district was reflected in the way we feel out here. There are 23,000 statewide jobs in the oil and gas industry - and if this bill is passed, this will kill many of those jobs."
It's pretty evident that the GOP sees the cap and trade bill as an opportunity to regain lost political ground.
|
|
|
Permalink :: 2 Comments :: Post a Comment
|
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.
