Real quick: NM-02 went for McCain (barely) in 2008; Cook has it at R+6. It’s been rumored for some time that Pearce (who didn’t run for the seat in 2008) would be trying to get it back for the GOP, but Harry Teague’s vote on cap-and-trade was the triggering event. You can donate to his campaign here: his basic site is here, and includes his reasons for running. They’re sufficiently important that Pearce isn’t going to run for Governor after all:
Pearce had been preparing to run for governor, but said Teague’s vote forced him to rethink his priorities.
“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.”
Pearce represented the district for three terms before mounting an unsuccessful campaign in 2008 against Democrat Tom Udall for the Senate. He said he was friendly with Teague before his election, and was befuddled by his recent voting record given his background in the oil industry.
Contra Pearce’s statement, it isn’t befuddling at all, really. Harry Teague is a Democrat, and will thus vote as his party directs. That’s what Blue Dogs do.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
“That’s what Blue Dogs do.”
At the rate things are going, that’s what a number of Blue Dogs will end up regretting.