High-profile Dem backs Lujan Grisham for governor
Former U.S. Sen. Bingaman breaks from norm to endorse representative before primary vote
Former U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman on Friday endorsed U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham for governor, lending the Democrat’s campaign early support as she tries to establish herself as the frontrunner in a race that several other candidates are planning to join.
Bingaman’s endorsement broke a tradition of elder statesmen staying neutral until Democratic voters choose their nominee for the general election. No high-profile party members backed a primary candidate in 2014, when five Democrats ran for the gubernatorial nomination.
Lujan Grisham announced her candidacy in December, two years before Republican Gov. Susana Martinez leaves office. So far, Lujan Grisham is the only candidate from either party to have officially launched a bid to succeed Martinez.
Picking up support from Bingaman may help Lujan Grisham depress competition from other Democrats. Bingaman served in the Senate for 30 years before retiring in 2012. He was state attorney general before that, and he has admirers across the state, having grown up in Silver City and built a base of supporters in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico.
In an interview Friday, Bingaman said he believed Lujan Grisham would be a strong candidate.
“I’ve been impressed by her work in Congress, and I’ve known her for a long time before that,” he said.
Bingaman said Lujan Grisham asked for his support before announcing her campaign and before Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Udall ruled out a run for governor. Bingaman said he would have backed Udall, who was a colleague in the Senate, had Udall opted to run for governor.
Lujan Grisham’s early efforts to raise money and shore up support from leading Democrats such as Bingaman may ward off potential competitors, but it may also hasten other candidates to jump into the race.
Joseph Cervantes, a state senator from Las Cruces, says he will announce his candidacy for governor late this month. Television executive Jeff Apodaca, son of a former governor, is also making the rounds as a potential candidate.
Businessman Alan Webber, who ran for governor in 2014, and Attorney General Hector Balderas are
also regularly mentioned as possible candidates.
Lujan Grisham announced her bid for governor just one month after winning a third term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She jumped in as Udall decided not to run.
One advantage of doing so is that Lujan Grisham already is raising money as an announced candidate. Emily’s List, the political committee that supports pro-choice Democratic women candidates, is among her financial backers.
“It is going to be an expensive race,” said Debra Haaland, outgoing chairwoman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. “If somebody doesn’t have statewide name recognition, for example, it stands to reason they would have to pay for TV ads.”
Haaland pointed out that Martinez raised more than $5 million for her re-election campaign in 2014. Political action committees raised much more on her behalf.
Receiving endorsements from prominent Democrats or political committees can help secure the status of front-runner and discourage possible competitors who might otherwise compete for money from the same pool of donors, said Brian Sanderoff, president of Albuquerque-based Research and Polling Inc.
“Her strategy was to get in as early as possible, demonstrate impressive strength and try to dissuade other candidates,” he said of Lujan Grisham.
That idea may appeal to many New Mexico Democrats after the five-way primary for governor in 2014. Then-Attorney General Gary King won the nomination after initially failing to make the ballot in a pre-primary convention of party regulars. Martinez routed King in the general election.
“If there were five people in the race again like last time, it tends to be difficult,” said Haaland, who is not backing a candidate for the Democratic nomination but is considering a run for Lujan Grisham’s congressional seat.
Republicans will not have the advantage of incumbency as Martinez runs up against her term limit. While no one from the Republican Party has officially announced a bid for governor, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, Lt. Gov. John Sanchez and Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry are potential candidates.