ALBUQUERQUE — Monday morning's meetings between Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and members of the state's Cabinet clearly were far from the first.

Denish's announcement at a news conference later in the morning that the meetings had taken place, however, was probably a first.

It was a well-attended conference, full of New Mexico reporters anticipating Denish will become governor as news reports indicate President-elect Barack Obama will nominate Gov. Bill Richardson to be secretary of commerce.

Even though she had to have known that reporters mainly would be interested in her ascendance, Denish worked to downplay reporters' questions about taking the reins.

Queries about who she'd like to have as her lieutenant governor, for example, are "premature," she said. So is speculation about what kind of an impact her departure as lieutenant governor might have on the state Senate, over which she presides during the Legislative sessions.

"I'm prepared to step in and take the lead at any time, should he be called to serve or for any reason," said Denish, who has been lieutenant governor since 2003. "That's the lieutenant governor's job." She has served as acting governor extensively in the past two years as Richardson campaigned for president.

As Denish, 59, begins to think about moving down the hallway of the Roundhouse's fourth floor into a bigger office, chatter about who she'll pick for her team has already begun. But her friends, staffers and former staffers interviewed Monday were uniformly tight-lipped about who might be part of Team Denish. Nobody would discuss even who Denish's inner circle of advisers and confidants are.

"She's been very good about not being presumptuous," said Jamie Koch, a former legislator and state Democratic Party chairman who was in business with Denish's late father, Jack Daniels. "It's a tricky situation. You have a very dynamic governor, Bill Richardson, a 60-day session of the Legislature coming up, and nobody knows if or when Governor Richardson would leave if he becomes commerce secretary."

Assuming Obama nominates Richardson, he still would have to be confirmed by the Senate, which is expected to act quickly on Cabinet nominations.

Denish's political director of five years, Steve Fitzer, also said it was premature to talk about who Denish might bring into her administration and claimed not to know who Denish's close advisers are.

"I'm her version of Amanda Cooper," Fitzer said, referring to Richardson's former political director. Cooper, he said, "ran his political office, but she didn't know every detail of what was happening on the fourth floor."

Besides Koch, two longtime Hobbs friends of Denish's who are active in state politics are state Transportation Commissioner and businessman Johnny Cope and Harry Teague, who this year won a seat in Congress in the 2nd Congressional District.

While Denish is not saying who she might bring into the Governor's Office, her political office has been forthright in revealing who is paying for her 2010 gubernatorial race.

For more than a year, Denish voluntarily has released quarterly campaign fundraising reports. (State law requires only one report in nonelection years.)

Although the gubernatorial race is two years away, Denish, who had nearly $1.4 million in her campaign coffers at the end of September, already is attracting several large donors, including several from out of state.

Those who gave her $5,000, according to her latest report, are Sunland Park racetrack owner Stan Fulton; Lubbock, Texas, lawyer Sam Fadduol; the Sutin, Thayer & Brown law firm in Albuquerque; Houston technology company Inx Inc.; Santa Fe consultant Mike Mier; Hobbs Rental Co. from Hobbs; Texas manufacturer Jeffrey Allen Dodson; Albuquerque investor James Wood; Meyners and Co., an Albuquerque accounting firm; the Pueblo of Sandia; the Association of Contractors of New Mexico; Intralot Inc., a Georgia lottery vendor that runs the New Mexico Lottery; Westland DevCo, which is part of a California-based company developing Albuquerque's west side; the Heard, Robins, Cloud, Lubel and Greenwood law firm of Santa Fe; and Downs at Albuquerque owner Paul Blanchard, who also is a major donor to Gov. Bill Richardson's campaigns. Gulfstream Lomas, a real-estate management company, gave in-kind donations valued at more than $5,500 between July and September.

Several Richardson Cabinet members also have contributed to Denish. These include Tourism Secretary Mike Cerletti ($250), Cultural Affairs Secretary Stuart Ashman ($100); and General Services Secretary Arturo Jaramillo ($300).

A look between the lines shows the transition from Gov. Bill Richardson to Gov. Diane Denish already is beginning.

"The governor and the lieutenant governor have discussed the possibility of a transition in a general way, not specifics, and any further steps that may need to be taken are premature," Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said Monday.

Already, Denish is getting briefed on the state's budget crunch, talking to Cabinet secretaries about the session and mapping out her agenda for the 60-day session that starts Jan. 20.

And in a statement released Monday, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez seemed to assume Richardson's commerce appointment and Denish's new job are done deals.

"It is a great honor for New Mexico and a testament to Governor Richardson's leadership that he will soon be joining President-elect Barack Obama's administration as Cabinet secretary for the Department of Commerce," Sanchez said. "At the same time, it is also a historic moment as Lt. Governor Diane Denish will assume the formal role of governor. The Senate looks forward to working together to solve the very serious financial issues facing our state."

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.