Having taken a shellacking in the 2010 election, leaders of the state Democratic Party will decide today who will lead the state party in next year's election, which will include the presidential race, a contest for an open U.S. Senate seat, an open House seat and all state legislative seats.

Three candidates are running for the chairmanship of the party: incumbent Javier Gonzales of Santa Fe, Albuquerque lawyer Sam Bregman, and Letitia Montoya, a party activist from Santa Fe.

The chairmanship will be decided by more than 400 members of the party's state central committee, which is meeting today in Albuquerque.

Gonzales, 44, is a former Santa Fe County commissioner who serves on the New Mexico State University board of regents. Bregman, 47, is a former Albuquerque city councilor. Montoya, 49, has run for offices like secretary of state and state senator several times.

It's been a bitter race during the past four months.

Bregman has laid the responsibility of last year's Democratic losses at Gonzales' feet. In 2010, the Democrats lost the governor's race, a seat in Congress, the Office of Secretary of State and eight seats in the state Legislature.

While Gonzales himself hasn't publicly attacked Bregman's career as a lawyer, some of Bregman's critics have blasted him for representing several Democrats caught up in scandals, including former state Treasurer Robert Vigil, who was convicted of a felony count in a federal corruption case, and politically connected investment broker Marc Correra, who shared in more than $22 million in finder's fees for state investments before he left the country.

Montoya has been less visible in the contest. She recently told The Associated Press, "People are tired of the good-old-boy system." She couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

During most instances in the recent past when Democrats fared poorly at the polls, the state chairman didn't seek re-election. That was true of Fred Harris, a former U.S. senator who was chairman when Republican Gov. Gary Johnson won re-election, and of former Santa Fe Mayor Sam Pick, who was chairman when Republican Garrey Carruthers was elected governor in 1986.

But it hasn't always been the case. In 1996, Democrats lost six legislative seats. Party Chairman Earl Potter, a Santa Fe lawyer, ran for re-election the next year, but lost to challenger Ray Sena.

"I was in a similar situation as Javier," Potter said in an interview this week. "Some of the same people now backing Bregman were saying the same things about me as they are about Javier (Gonzales)."

Potter said he's backing Javier for the job. "It takes a couple of years to really get the hang of the job," he said.

The incumbent also is backed by U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman and former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who lost the governor's race last year. Denish will nominate him at today's central committee meeting, Gonzales said.

Gonzales on Friday was asked why he would seek another term after the Democratic losses of 2010. "The party mettle was tested. We held on to the 1st Congressional District seat. We elected Ray Powell as land commissioner," he responded, referring to a position previously held by a Republican.

"Last year, there was a historic wave moving across the country," Gonzales said. "There were 19 states where the legislatures went from Democratic control to Republican. It was a tough year for Democrats. It's easy for someone like Sam Bregman, who wasn't out there on the line, to launch bombs."

Bregman, interviewed Thursday, said he's running because, "As a lifelong Democrat, I'm sick and tired of losing elections." He said the state party under Gonzales failed to raise money and support for Democratic candidates and "did a miserable job of getting our message across." And even after the election, Bregman said, "We let the Republican governor (Susana Martinez) control the message during the whole Legislature. We let her talk about wedge issues instead of the important issues that affect people."

Critics say his work defending controversial clients like Vigil and Correra would give instant ammunition to Republicans, who got great mileage last year on the corruption issue. Asked about that, Bregman said, "I've spent my entire professional life standing up and helping people. It's a fundamental right to have a strong legal defense." Referring to Abraham Lincoln, Bregman said, "If Republicans attack me for it, I'll remind them that their greatest president was a criminal defense attorney."

The candidate elected today will win a two-year term.

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