NM-Sen: Udall Reports Richardson Won't Enter Race

We've all heard it over and over again from many sources -- Governor Bill Richardson isn't interested in entering the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico. He's running for president and that's that. The Albuquerque Journal's front page headline this morning says it again, in case anyone's still unconvinced at this point: "Udall Says Governor Confirms He's No Senate Threat." The story reports on a conversation reporter Jeff Jones had with Rep. Tom Udall (NM-03) yesterday:

Gov. Bill Richardson to his key New Mexico backers: Support anyone you want for the 2008 U.S. Senate race, because I'm not getting in. That was Richardson's message during a face-to-face meeting with those supporters earlier this month, according to Rep. Tom Udall, a fellow Democrat who next week will announce his U.S. Senate bid.

"He basically released them to do what they wanted to do in the Senate race," the 3rd Congressional District representative told the Journal on Tuesday.

Rep. Udall was in Rio Rancho yesterday to speak at a joint luncheon meeting of the Rio Rancho and Greater Albuquerque Chambers of Commerce, an appearance scheduled before his decision to run for Senate.

Richardson's campaign joined in with another attempt to make the Governor's position clear:

"We are not running for Senate," Richardson campaign spokesman Tom Reynolds said again Tuesday.

Udall also explained that hearing about Richardson's statement to his supporters was a major factor in his decision to run for Senate:

Udall initially had said he would seek to stay in the House. In an interview Tuesday, he said he reconsidered "almost immediately" upon getting news of what Richardson had to say to his top supporters.

"I wasn't a part of the group (at the meeting)," he said. "But I heard from many people that were at the meeting."

As further evidence, Udall said he's now lining up "some longtime Richardson backers" to support his Senate campaign. He also said that he'll officially enter the race "over a period of several days next week."

Will all this finally put to rest the rumors and speculation about Richardson still eying a Senate run if his quest to be the Democratic nominee for president fails? We'll see.

In the meantime, the Richardson campaign reports that the Governor has real momentum in New Hampshire's presidential primary race:

A new CNN/WMUR poll released today shows New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson surging in New Hampshire, climbing six points to pull even with John Edwards and shrinking the gap with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

... "The momentum we are seeing in New Hampshire is happening in all of the early states," Contarino added. "Voters are looking for bold solutions, backed by a real track record of success, and more and more are supporting Bill Richardson."

According to the new CNN/WMUR poll:

Hillary Clinton	36%
Barack Obama	22%
John Edwards	13%
Bill Richardson	12%

Check our archive for previous coverage of the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico. Photo credits: Udall photo by Jeff Jones, published the Gallup Independent. Richardson photo from campaign Flickr album.