New Mexico's U.S. Senate race to see who will replace retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman attracted some celebrity campaign contributions, according to recently filed campaign-finance reports.

Democrat Martin Heinrich received a $500 contribution from singer-songwriter Jackson Browne as well as $3,500 from media mogul Ted Turner, who owns a large ranch in Northern New Mexico.

Republican Heather Wilson didn't have any rock stars on her contributions list. But she did get $2,500 from Brent Scowcroft, who served as national security adviser to two Republican presidents.

Meanwhile, Democrat Hector Balderas didn't have any real celebrities in his support, but he did have one surprise name on the list — state Rep. Zach Cook, a sitting Republican legislator from Ruidoso. However, Cook and his wife Angie Schneider-Cook said Wednesday that the donation was from Schneider-Cook, who said she went to law school with Balderas.

The recent batch of reports for the months of July, August and September show that the party establishments of both Democrats and Republicans are starting to jell around front-runners.

At the end of September, Heinrich had more than twice the cash on hand that Balderas did. On the GOP side, Wilson, according to the reports, had nearly four times that of Lt. Gov. John Sanchez and twice that of Las Cruces businessman Greg Sowards. Both Sanchez and Sowards are largely self-financing their campaigns.

Congressman Heinrich represents the Albuquerque area. Wilson represented that district before Heinrich.

One of Heinrich's biggest sources of contributions is the League of Conservation Voters, a national environmental group. Its political-action committee has donated $5,720 to Heinrich — including noncash, in-kind donations. But through the website GiveGreen.com, the group collected another $36,535 from individuals for Heinrich's campaign.

Heinrich also has benefited from Washington, D.C., political-action committees.

Another group, Council for a Livable World, which is dedicated to reducing the danger of nuclear weapons, has raised $17,954 for Heinrich's campaign.

Heinrich has benefited from national labor union support. Among his contributors are Service Employees International ($5,000 for Heinrich this year); United Food and Commercial Workers ($5,000); National Air Traffic Controllers ($3,500) and United Auto Workers ($2,500).

Several out-of-state Indian tribes that operate casinos also contributed to Heinrich. Those include the Tunica-Biloxi tribe of Louisiana, which has given the campaign a total of $4,500; Gila River Indian Community in Arizona; the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians in California; the Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribe in Michigan and the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, each of which has given Heinrich $2,500; and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut, which has given the campaign $2,000.

Heinrich received $10,000 from a Los Angeles couple, Robert Estrin and Mary Lloyd Estrin.

Mary Lloyd Estrin is program director for the Human Rights and Economic Justice program at the General Service Foundation, which supports efforts to strengthen human rights, primarily in Mexico.

Heinrich also got $2,000 from Gerald Cassidy, a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Cassidy's career is a main focus in a book called So Damn Much Money, The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government by Robert G. Kaiser.

Heinrich got contributions from two state attorneys general — former attorney general Patricia Madrid, who gave him $1,250, and current Attorney General Gary King, who contributed $1,000. King has publicly feuded with Balderas in recent years.

Balderas received financial support from the candidates at the top of last year's Democratic ticket, as well as their families. Former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who lost to Republican Susana Martinez in the gubernatorial election, gave Balderas $2,000. Her husband, Herb Denish, gave $1,750, while Diane Denish's daughter Sarah Schreiber contributed $1,400.

Last year's Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Brian Colón contributed $4,875, while his wife, Aleli Colón, gave $5,000.

Balderas received $5,000 from the Verdin Law Firm in Dallas, plus another $5,000 from Isaul Verdin, an immigration lawyer who owns that firm.

One New Mexico gaming tribe contributed to Balderas. Sandia Pueblo gave him $1,200.

On the Republican side, Wilson's biggest contributor was a political-action committee called The Good Government Fund. She took in $29,709 from the fund.

Wilson's campaign manager, Bryce Dustman, said Tuesday that this is a joint fundraising committee associated with Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's political-action committee. It raises money for Wilson along with two other GOP Senate candidates, George Allen in Virginia and Jeff Flake in Arizona.

Wilson received many contributions from various "leadership PACs" of sitting senators and other Republican committees. She got $5,000 in contributions from Hutchison's KPAC; the 21st Century Majority Fund (Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.); Kelly PAC (Sen. Kelly Ayotte , R-N.H.) and the RoyB Fund (Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.).

She also got contributions from the Senate Majority Fund ($5,000) and the New Republican Majority Fund $3,500.

Several energy companies gave to Wilson. Among them were Devon Energy, Oklahoma City, ($5,000); Peabody Energy in St. Louis ($3,500); the Emerson Electric Co. in St. Louis, ($3,500) and Bass Brothers Enterprises, an oil field services company in Texas ($3,000).

Wilson got money from two New Mexico gaming tribes. The Sandia Pueblo governor's office gave $2,200, while Isleta Pueblo gave $1,000.

Sanchez's biggest contributor was Kathy Chavez, owner of the Silver Lining Service — a business that takes care of elderly people in their own homes — in Grants. She gave the campaign a total of $5,000.

He got $2,477 from T. Greg Merrion, owner of a Farmington oil and gas company, and $1,000 from Española developer Richard Cook. Allen McCulloch, a Farmington doctor who was the Republican candidate who ran against Bingaman in 2006, gave Sanchez $1,000.

Of the $476,000 Sanchez has raised, $200,500 is from loans he made himself. These loans were made earlier this year, not in the most recent quarter.

UPDATE 12:41 pm A previous version of this story stated that a contribution to Democrat Hector Balderas was from state Rep. Zach Cook, a Republican from Ruidoso. Though the report filed only lists Zach Cook's name, the $300 contribution actually was from his wife. The text of the story has been clarified. 

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.