One problem that political reporters and bloggers are having since last week's news that Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., isn't running for re-election is coming up with fresh metaphors for the effect that announcement is having on state politics.

Earthquake. Upheaval. Reshuffling the deck. Tsunami. Frenzy. Stampede. I believe all of those have been used, many of them by me. So let's just go all the way and say it ripped a hole in the fabric of political reality in New Mexico.

So now I'm going to talk about a Hurricane. No, not another metaphor for tumult. I'm talking about the man with the eye patch who definitely is the most colorful supporter who attended Rep. Heather Wilson's otherwise low-key announcement news conference in Albuquerque last week — the Godfather of New Mexico music, Al Hurricane.

Unfortunately, he was only there to show his support for Wilson's Senate bid, not to sing. But, talking to Hurricane after the announcement, I learned something about Heather Wilson I'd never imagined.

She plays the banjo!

Hurricane said he and Wilson were at a presentation for students at an Albuquerque middle school, and she joined him on banjo for a song.

If state Democrats don't want to lose the all-important bluegrass vote, they might have to bring in Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., to do a little fiddling on the campaign trail. Indeed, this race could take a turn for the musical. Democrat Marty Chávez, besides being mayor of Albuquerque, plays electric guitar. He played "Louie Louie," "Hang on Sloopy" and some other songs with the band that opened for Joan Jett at a Fourth of July concert at Balloon Fiesta Park.

Meanwhile, back on Capitol Hill: Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce of the state's southern Second Congressional District was still sitting tight as of Wednesday, though sources close to him confirmed the congressman "has started talking to folks about putting together a finance committee and some form of exploratory committee."

One rule of thumb: When a potential candidate starts talking about "exploratory committees" that almost always means he or she is going to run.

One Republican with whom I spoke this week said Pearce doesn't need to jump in the Senate race right away. He can sit back, see whether Gov. Bill Richardson decides to run for Senate (I haven't bugged the Richardson camp today to get a denial, but earlier this week I got an emphatic "No.") and keep raising money for a House race, which could be transferred to a Senate campaign.

The exploratory committee route might suggest that's what Pearce is doing.

But my source close to Pearce said, "I don't believe that's a strategy he would pursue. He is strongly considering a run now and will make a decision sooner rather than later. Once the pieces are in place and he's comfortable with a decision, (Pearce will) put out a statement. But it could go either way."

The club of The Club: While state Republicans were casting their first stones at Chávez on Tuesday, attacking his record as mayor, Wilson was facing an attack — from her right. The conservative Club for Growth, a national anti-tax group, released a statement saying Wilson's economic record "runs both deep and wide in liberal waters." The statement quoted club president Pat Toomey saying, "Last time I checked, supporting tax hikes, pork projects, and other liberal policies is not the mark of an economic conservative."

Replacing Heather: About the time that Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White was announcing his bid Wednesday to seek the GOP nomination for Wilson's congressional seat, a Democrat, former Health Secretary (and St. Michael's High School graduate) Michelle Lujan Grisham, announced she'll be holding a news conference to announce her intention to run for the seat.

One person who is not having a news conference is state Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque. Park said last week that he was considering the race for CD 1. He confirmed Wednesday that he won't be entering the race. "I've got to put family first," he said. He will, however, run for re-election to the state Legislature, where he chairs the House Judiciary Committee.

So far in that congressional race, Republican candidates include White and possibly state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones of Albuquerque, while Democrats include Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich, former assistant Attorney General Jon Adams and (probably) Grisham.

Bad news from Nevada: Gov. Bill Richardson has said many times that he needs to do well in Nevada to keep his presidential hopes alive. Therefore a new poll from the Silver State by American Research Group has to be extremely disappointing for his campaign.

The poll of 600 Nevada residents likely to participate in the Democratic caucus in January show only 5 percent support Richardson, putting him in a distant fourth place. What's worse for the governor is this is one point down from the last ARG Nevada poll in June. The poll was taken Friday through Tuesday and has a 4 percent margin of error.

Another ARG poll released Wednesday shows Richardson pulling 7 percent among likely Arizona Democratic primary voters. That poll interviewed 600 likely voters and had a 4 percent margin of error. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has a wide lead in both states.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.