Democracy for New Mexico

10/28: Benefit Reception for Martin Heinrich with Amb. Joe Wilson, Wiviotts, Prof. Sean Wilentz

Ambassador Joseph Wilson
Don and Kelley Wiviott
with special guest
Professor Sean Wilentz
Professor of History at Princeton University

Ambassador's Council: Mrs. Q. and Mr. Phil Cook, Mrs. Kelly Egolf and State Rep.-Elect Brian Egolf, Mrs. Vicki and Mr. Owen Lopez, Committee still in formation

Cordially invite you to join them for a reception to benefit
Martin Heinrich
The Next Democratic Congressman from NM's 1st District
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
At the home of
Don and Kelley Wiviott
12 San Rafael, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Parking is across the street on Tano Trail

Private VIP Reception 5:30 PM
Ambassador's Council
Contribute or Raise $2,300
Host $1,000
General Reception 6:00 PM
Sponsor $500
Guest $250 or $100

For more information, or to RSVP, please contact Rebekah Walker at (505) 243-3429 or Rebekah@MartinHeinrich.com.

Sean Wilentz, Princeton professor, author, and contributing editor to The New Republic, is renowned for his sharp criticism of the Bush Presidency. Please join Professor Wilentz, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, Don and Kelley Wiviott, and State Representative Elect Brian Egolf and Kelly Egolf in their fight to ensure that Martin Heinrich has the resources necessary to win on November 4th and go to Congress to fight for New Mexicans against the failed policies of the last eight years. Contributions or gifts to Martin Heinrich for Congress are not tax deductible.

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Sunday: Udall, Heinrich Host Pre-Debate BBQ Rally at Udall HQ

On Sunday, Rep. Tom Udall, our U.S. Senate candidate, and Martin Heinrich, our NM-01 Congressional candidate, will host a barbeque and pre-debate rally at Udall’s campaign headquarters in Albuquerque.

The two candidates will rally volunteers as they prepare to grill their opponents in the upcoming debates. Heinrich is scheduled to debate Darren White Sunday evening from 4–5 PM on KOAT-TV. Udall will debate Steve Pearce from 6–7 PM, also on KOAT. The debates are co-sponsored by the Albuquerque Journal.

BARBEQUE AND PRE-DEBATE RALLY
Sunday, October 26th, 12:30–2:00 PM
Udall Campaign Headquarters
3311 Candelaria NE, Suite B, Albuquerque

Photos by M.E. Broderick.

True Blue New Mexico: Last Chance to Help Our Congressional Candidates

Martin Heinrich, Ben Ray Lujan, Tom Udall, Harry Teague

Daily Kos is running a series called "Listening to the Locals," and today they're featuring New Mexico. Matt from   did the excellent diary and it's now front-paged on Kos. Check in here, add your comments and, most importantly, donate a few bucks to the cause! I know many of us are pretty tapped out now, but even $5 or $10 can make a real difference as we count down to election day.

Click on image to donate!

We really CAN win these races this year. As I'm sure you've all noticed, the energy on the ground here is outrageous and all the candidates, their staffs, the DPNM coordinated campaign and the tons of volunteers are working their butts off. I've never witnessed anything like it.

But as Matt says, it can be difficult to raise the kind of money needed by all the candidates in a state that's so huge, but which has a small population. Our Congressional Districts are so HUGE -- especially NM-02 where Harry Teague is running. The state of Pennsylvania would fit inside its boundaries with room to spare. That's a lot of ground to cover in terms of travel, voter contact and advertising budgets.

We've never had all four seats up for grabs at the same time -- let alone a presidential race to boot -- so donations, especially late in the game, can be hard to come by. All the campaigns need our help to battle in the last days against the smears of the GOP and Freedom's Watch.

Over the course of this election -- from the primaries on -- Matt and I have gotten to know the candidates very well as they've all been highly accessible, open and available to bloggers and everyone else. We've come to know them on a first name basis, and I know many of you have too.

I'm sure Matt will agree that Tom Udall (U.S. Senate), Martin Heinrich (NM-01), Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03) and Harry Teague (NM-02) are not only effective candidates and true Dems, but top-notch human beings as well. Honest, caring, dedicated to change, fun, smart and great to talk to. They are with us, all the way. They are one with our hopes and dreams. They will work hard in Washington for the things we care deeply about. But first we have to make the last push to help them win their races.

So I urge you to do what you can to help make New Mexico a Blue State in '08. We are SO close to having a True Blue New Mexico and your donations can be instrumental in ensuring our success. You can give to all our Congressional candidates on the page, as well as to Obama. 

However, we're making a special push today for Martin Heinrich in NM-01 and Harry Teague in NM-02 because they are both in very tight battles -- where the GOP and shady groups like Freedom's Watch are very active.

Please given what you can, not matter how small, to bring our candidates down the home stretch. And thanks for all you do and have done for months and years now -- all of you!

NM-01: TV Debate Tonight; Defenders of Wildlife Launches New Heinrich TV Ad

"Leadership" by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

Candidate Forum
Tonight, watch Martin Heinrich once again rise above the petty, dishonest attacks of Darren White by talking intelligently about the issues in the second NM-01 Congressional debate in as many days. Tune in to KNME-TV5, KUNM-FM 89.9 or KANW-FM 89.1 from 7:00-8:00 PM to catch it live. The candidate forum is sponsored by New Mexico First and New Mexico Public Broadcasting.

New Ad
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (DOWAF) today announced the launch of a new TV ad highlighting Martin Heinrich’s ability to lead America into a new energy future. The TV ad about New Mexico’s 1st District candidate comes after a June endorsement, followed by weeks of field campaigning from Defenders Action Fund. According to , FEC reports show that DOWAF made a new $110,000 media expenditure the other day to support Heinrich.

“Martin Heinrich represents the change in Washington that America so badly needs”, said Defenders Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen. “We know we can count on him to support clean energy programs that break our dependence on foreign oil. He is exactly the kind of leader America needs to tackle our nation’s 21st century energy challenges.”

“Darren White is cut from the same cloth a George Bush and Dick Cheney, having served as Bush’s reelection campaign chairman in 2004” continued Schlickeisen. “Martin Heinrich understands that we can’t keep going on a path that only leads to higher gas prices and greater energy insecurity. His election to the US Congress will be part of the beginning of a new energy era that will benefit us all.”

The TV ad will run through Election Day throughout NM-01. 

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is also running an aggressive field operation in support of Heinrich, and has been actively supporting Rep. Tom Udall for US Senate. In addition to multiple television and radio ads, DOWAF has an aggressive field operation that has already knocked on more than 75,000 doors.

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NM-01: Heinrich-White TV Debate Tonight, Dem Party Issues Challenge

Tonight at 7:00 PM on KOB-TV4, Dem Martin Heinrich and Repub Darren White and Heinrich will debate live. There's still time for you to submit a question at the KOB website. In light of today's debate, the Democratic Party of New Mexico issued a statement calling on Darren White to sever his connection with the group Freedom's Watch, which functions in this election cycle like Swift Boat Veterans Verision 2.0:

The Democratic Party of New Mexico wants voters to remember Darren White's connections to the Bush Administration and shady organizations like Freedom's Watch that routinely work above the law. Last Friday, Brian S. Colón, Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the New Mexico Republican Party, Freedom's Watch and Candidate for Congress, Sheriff Darren White. [Associated Press, 10/20/2008] Federal election laws prohibit Freedom's Watch from coordinating its efforts with campaigns, state parties, or any political candidate.

The Democratic Party of New Mexico believes that the attack ads coming from Freedom's Watch and the New Mexico Republican Party share more than just similarities. Both of these ads share the same photographs of Martin Heinrich and were produced by the firm Stevens, Reed, Curcio and Potholm, the same firm that produced the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth commercials.

"The actions of the New Mexico Republican Party and Darren White are illegal and reckless," said Josh Geise, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. "Does Sherriff Darren White think he is above the law? We call on Darren White to demand that Freedom's Watch stop airing their ads and cease this illegal activity on behalf of his campaign."

This is not the first time Freedom's Watch has been implicated in this type of scandal. In April 2008, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee charged that, in a special election for Congress in Louisiana, Freedom's Watch was running a television advertisement with a script that came from the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is illegal. Freedom's Watch is run and supported by several former officials of the Bush Administration.

For a copy of the complaint, email Conchita Cruz at conchita@nmdemocrats.org.

More NM-01 Debates
Heinrich and White will debate again at 7:00 PM on Thursday, October 23, in a live televised debate on KNME-TV5 hosted by New Mexico First and broadcast from the Albuquerque Convention Center.

On Sunday, October 26, the NM-01 Congressional candidates will tangle at 10:45 AM non-televised debate at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana Blvd.NE. More info on that in my previous post. At 4:00 PM that same Sunday afternoon, KOAT-TV7 will host their final TV debate.

Photo credit: Crop of a photo by nmfbihop.

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NM-01: Heinrich & White to Debate at Congregation Albert on 10/26

Dem Martin Heinrich and Repub Darren White, Congressional candidates in NM-01, will debate on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at Congregation Albert Brotherhood, 3800 Lousiana NE in Albuquerque:

9:30 AM: Breakfast (See pricing below)
10:45 AM: Debate (FREE to the public-Doors open at 10:30 AM)

***Breakfast Reservations are required***
Make your reservation early by calling 883-1818, ext 3203
Brotherhood Members $8 / Non-Members $11

Congregation Albert Brotherhood - Winner of the 2006/2007 MRJ National Harris Award for Best Local Community Service Programming

NM-01: GOP Ditches Darren White to Save Incumbents

I previously posted on the National Republican Congressional Committee's recent decision to withdraw two-thirds of its TV advertising buys in the NM-01 race between Dem Martin Heinrich and Repub Darren White (right). The cancellation translated to a loss of about $500,000 in support from the national GOP for White -- at a time when the Heinrich campaign is reporting a big third quarter fundraising haul of about $575,000, and Heinrich's getting lots of help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

I said I thought the cut-back meant the GOP believed the money could be used more effectively in other races where there's a better chance for victory. Now a story on Politico confirms that the DC Repubs are effectively ditching Darren White -- to concentrate on defending GOP incumbents whose seats are now in jeopardy thanks to a Democratic tide rising nationwide:

Darren White and Erik Paulsen were prized Republican recruits, House candidates poised to be the new face of the GOP on Capitol Hill.

But as the two head into the homestretch of their campaigns, GOP operatives say they’ll probably have to win — or lose — on their own. The money national Republicans earmarked for White in New Mexico and for Paulsen in Minnesota will likely go instead to protect GOP incumbents who once looked like locks for reelection.

The GOP now has to put significant funds into races like those of incumbent Reps. John B. Shadegg of Arizona, Lee Terry of Nebraska, Henry Brown Jr. of South Carolina and Dan Lungren of California who "are all fighting for their political lives, a reversal of fortunes that has caught even the most astute campaign observers by surprise."

Meanwhile, the Dems have raised significantly more campaign funding than the Repubs:

Democrats have maintained a sizable fundraising advantage since taking control of the House. At the end of August, House Democrats had nearly $54 million in cash, according to the Federal Election Commission. By contrast, Republicans had only $14.3 million to spend down the stretch.

As of Sunday, the DCCC had spent money in 47 congressional districts. Of those, 34 are seats held by Republicans. In contrast, the NRCC has spent money in 13 districts — 10 of which it is trying to defend. As of this past weekend, Democrats have spent nearly $24.7 million, while Republicans have spent less than $2 million.

The DC Dems have been using their funding advantage to enable them to commit resources to races all over the nation this cycle, much as Obama's prodigious fundraising has allowed him to challenge McCain in previously Red States.

“If you’re a Republican in a less-than-outstanding district, you want to have taken a poll in the last two weeks no matter who you’re running against,” said David Wasserman, an analyst on House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

“The DCCC has made advertising decisions that have forced Republicans’ hands,” he continued, mentioning Terry’s seat in Nebraska and one held by conservative Rep. Mark Souder in Indiana. “Republicans, in turn, need to spend in these districts. And $500,000 to the [National Republican Congressional Committee] is a whole lot more meaningful than $500,000 to the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee].”

... Down the stretch, national Republicans would like to see their troubled incumbents do what most vulnerable lawmakers do in a tight spot: Go negative. But to do that, they need to have money and they need to start soon, so they have enough time to define relatively unknown opponents before those opponents make the attacks irrelevant.

The TV ad campaign for White -- who already has high name recognition -- has been almost entirely negative, following the strategy described above to try and define the lesser-known Heinrich. Now, White won't have much cash to pay for ads to continue down that road in the last few weeks before the election. Heinrich, on the other hand, can pursue a relatively better funded ad strategy to increase his name recognition and promote his positions -- and attract more undecideds and disaffected Repubs to vote for him.

With just 21 days left until election day, Heinrich still has a difficult task in trying to put the NM-01 seat in the Dem column for the first time in its history. However, his odds are definitely improving as the GOP is forced to abandon weak candidates like Darren White to protect their faltering incumbents.

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NM-01: Celebrate Martin Heinrich's Birthday Tonight With Bluegrass Bands at O'Niell's Pub

Visiting Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley (D, IA-01) and Martin Heinrich talk about family, the future and Congressional service at DPNM HQ in Albuquerque recently.

This is a fun one. Martin's wife Julie has invited one and all to celebrate NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich's birthday tonight: This Friday is Martin's 37th birthday and we're throwing an early birthday party for him tonight at O'Niell's. I hope you can make it! Here's the scoop. The party is at 6 PM, Tuesday, October 14th, at O'Niell's Pub (4310 Central Ave. SE near the corner of Central & Washington). And, we're having blue grass bands play to celebrate turning New Mexico into a blue state!

In lieu of gifts, we're asking everyone to contribute at least $25 (or $37 in honor of Martin's birthday!) to the campaign. It's going to be a great time and we hope that you can make it! RSVP now.

Martin, the boys and I have been on the campaign trail for over a year and a half and I can't believe that the election has started and voting is underway. We've been to every corner of the district and we have a lot of stories to tell.

When Martin and I made the decision to run for Congress, we did it because of our kids. Like so many of you, we knew that the country that we love so much was off on the wrong track.

Two long terms of George Bush, Dick Cheney and the Washington Republicans produced both a quagmire in Iraq that's cost us hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives and an economic disaster the likes of which haven't been seen since the Great Depression.

We can't change Washington by sending another Republican who has steadfastly towed the Bush/Cheney line. We need to send Washington a message that it's time for real change by turning this Congressional District - and all of New Mexico - blue.

I hope you'll join us for Martin's birthday party tonight. Thanks so much for your support.

Sincerely,
Julie Heinrich

Note: If you can't attend, you can still donate online to Martin's campaign and help turn NM-01 as BLUE AS A BLUEGRASS BAND!

Rep. Bruce Braley was first elected to Northeast Iowa's First District in 2006 and was the first Democrat to represent the district since 1979. Sound familiar? If we do all we can to help, Martin Heinrich can be the first Democrat to represent New Mexico's First District!

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NM-01: Heinrich Raises Impressive $750K in Third Quarter

Martin Heinrich (NM-01), Brian Colon (DPNM), Harry Teague (NM-02), Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03) at Blue State in '08 reception Friday at Los Poblanos Inn in Albuquerque

The word is that the campaign of NM-01 Dem candidate Martin Heinrich raised about $750,000 in the third quarter that ended on September 30, 2008. That's quite a haul, especially considering that the campaign of his GOP rival, Darren White, will be suffering from the recent cancellation of more than $500,000 in Albuquerque area TV ad time by the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC). Talk about a "no confidence" vote on White by the NRCC. Heinrich commented on his impressive third quarter fundraising numbers in a statement released by his campaign:

"These numbers make clear that voters are rejecting Darren White's support of eight years of failed Republicans policies, and saying yes to a new direction for our country. Our message of middle class tax cuts, affordable health care and a responsible end to the war in Iraq is being embraced by Central New Mexico voters and I wholeheartedly thank them for their support."

Meanwhile, White's campaign seems to be limping along financially, and it's had to publicly admit as much, although it claimed that was no surprise. "Campaign spokesman Stephen Schatz said the campaign had expected to be behind in funding, but that it has enough resources to battle on through Nov. 4." (emphasis mine)

Schatz also said, "Republicans went into the 2008 campaign lagging behind Democrats in funding. We always knew we were going to be outspent in this race, and we budgeted and planned appropriately. We are in a strong position financially, and have our television time booked through Election Day. We are confident that we will have the resources necessary to win this race.”

Well, what else was Schatz going to say as we head into the last few weeks before the election? Unfortunately, his statement is apparently misleading. When TV logs were checked at KOB, KRQE and KOAT, they reportedly showed the White campaign had only paid for TV ads through October 18 of this year. It will be fascinating to see how much White managed to raise in the third quarter, with even the NRCC demonstrating its lack of faith in his campaign.

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(Updated) Saturday: Richardson, Heinrich, Colón to Speak at South Valley Canvass Kickoff

Martin Heinrich on the power of grassroots campaigning

Update: Gov. Bill Richardson and Martin Heinrich will also welcome back volunteers from an afternoon of canvassing at 4:45 PM on Saturday at the Campaign for Change Bernalillo office located at 240 South Camino del Pueblo.
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Join Governor Bill Richardson, NM-01 Congressional Candidate Martin Heinrich and Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, Brian S. Colón, at the kickoff of South Valley canvassing on Saturday, October 11, on behalf of Democratic candidates. The event starts at 9:30 AM at the Campaign for Change office at 3211 Coors Blvd. SW, Suite A 3-4L in Albuquerque. Click for MAP.

Directions: At the Rio Bravo - Coors intersection across the street from Walmart in the Goodwill shopping center. In the parking lot, facing the building, the Obama office is all the way to the left with a banner over the entry way.

You can sign up for one of three South Valley canvassing shifts here and be part of the solution to what America and New Mexicans are facing after eight years of Republican failures. Check out the Obama New Mexico events page for more opportunities around the state to bring about the change we need. Tick, tock.

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NM-01: NRCC Cancels Two-Thirds of TV Ad Buy for White

Uh oh. With only about three weeks left before the election, it appears that Darren White is pretty much being abandoned by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in his race for the NM-01 Congressional seat. The NRCC has cancelled two-thirds of its broadcast TV advertising buy for Bush's favorite sheriff -- which translates to a loss of an estimated $500,000 in support from the national GOP. The campaign of Martin Heinrich (above right) weighs in:

"Once again, Darren White gets a vote of no confidence from those closest to him," said Jason Burke, a Heinrich campaign spokesperson. "White's own officers gave him an 89% vote of no confidence, and this time the Republican Party decided that Darren White just can't be trusted to get the job done."

This past August, the NRCC reserved $731,690 in advertising on behalf of Darren White from October 14 to November 4th. The NRCC has now dropped two weeks out of the three-week buy, demonstrating they believe the money could be used more effectively in other races where there's a better chance for victory. And who knows if they'll end up cancelling the third week.

"It's actually kind of sad," Burke said. "After the hundreds of thousands of dollars Darren raised as chairman of George Bush's reelection campaign you'd think his buddy Bush would help bailout his failed campaign."

In contrast, the Democratic Congresssional Campaign Committee (DCCC) recently made a new $175,000 media buy in NM-01 to advocate for Martin Heinrich. Although Martin has been up in recent polling by 2-6 points, there's still much to be done to capture the seat. But a dearth of ads on the Republican side at a time when many voters are just tuning in can only help the Heinrich campaign -- and all of us.

10/10 Reception: Help New Mexico be a Blue State in '08

From Brian Colón, DPNM Chair: WIth less than 30 days until the election, there is no time to hesitate. The time to act is now! Democrats have known for months what the media is just starting to figure out -- that New Mexico is not only going to play an important role in sending Barack Obama to the White House, but for the first time in a long time, we have the opportunity to send an all-Democrat delegation to Washington, D.C. But in order to send Barack Obama to the White House, Tom Udall to the Senate and Martin Heinrich, Harry Teague and Ben Ray Lujan to Congress, we need each and every New Mexico Democrat to get involved. We need your support to make sure we get every Democrat out to the polls for this historic election:

Blue State in '08
Governor Bill Richardson
Lt. Governor Diane Denish
Chairman Brian S. Colón
cordially invite you to a fundraiser
Featuring Senate and Congressional Candidates
Congressman Tom Udall
Martin Heinrich • Harry Teague • Ben Ray Lujan
Help us to fund our Get Out the Vote Efforts to ensure
VICTORY in ‘08
Los Poblanos Inn & Cultural Center
4803 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM
Friday, October 10, 2008
Reception • 7:00 PM • Host Photo Reception • 8:00 PM
Requested Contributions: Hosts $1000 • Guests $50
RSVP to Beth Adams @ 505-830-3650 or beth@nmdemocrats.org
Or Buy an e-Ticket

If you can't make it, please don't miss this opportunity to contribute to the party to help us turn New Mexico into a Blue State in '08. Click to donate online.

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