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June 2008 Stories

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Congressman Steve Pearce - A Sense for Business

Congresswoman Heather Wilson- A Sense of Place

Congressman Tom Udall - A Sense of History

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This is a rare time in the history of New Mexico. Three congressional candidates from all three districts are vying for the U. S. Senate seat vacated by Pete Domenici after 36 years of service. When the votes are counted, we will have one new senator and three new congressmen next year.

Whoever is elected senator will be a freshman senator, without the decades of political power and committee leadership forged by Pete Domenici. All our congressional representatives will be freshmen as well. How will this affect the clout of our state at the national level?

This issue of the New Mexico Business Magazine focuses on the U. S. Senate race.
Three writers interviewed the candidates with the objective of making each candidate as a true and distinct personality. We hope these articles present a balanced viewpoint that will be helpful to you in making your choice.

First, let me say that we were impressed and charmed by all the candidates. They were smart, articulate and engaging. But they differed wildly in their backgrounds and their views on the issues.

Republican Steve Pearce was an Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and went on to run his own successful business. He wears his conservative values as a badge of distinction. Democrat Tom Udall comes from a long line of Western political stock dedicated to environmental issues and served as attorney general before being elected as U. S. congressman. Republican Heather Wilson was a pioneer for her times, joining the Air Force, becoming a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and earning a D. Phil. in international relations.

These are three tremendously qualified but different candidates. We have tried to give you a true-to-life profile of each of them.

But how does one evaluate political candidates? Should we choose the candidate whose views most resemble ours? Should we make our choice based on the issues (keeping in mind that issues change)? What about experience? Education? Values? Many say that a candidate’s voting record is most important. How have they handled their personal lives? How well do they run their campaigns? Should self-serving TV commercials play a part in our decision-making process? How did their early experiences shape their lives? And what about the questions we didn’t have time to ask?

I don’t have all the answers. I’m just asking the questions.