Lujan wins Democratic nomination

East gets GOP nod, in 3rd District

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

6/3/2008 - 6/3/08

After what had turned into an expensive and sometimes bitter congressional primary campaign, Ben Ray Luján late Tuesday emerged the victor over Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott and four other Democrats in primary race for the 3rd Congressional District seat.

The 35-year-old Luján will face Dan East of Rio Rancho, winner of the Republican primary, and at least one independent candidate, Carol Miller of Ojo Sarco, in the November general election to fill Northern New Mexico's seat in Congress.

The seat was left when U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., became a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Trailing Luján and Wiviott in Democratic voting Tuesday were Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, former state Indian Affairs Secretary Benny Shendo Jr., and lawyers Jon Adams and Rudy Martin.

Luján, a one-term state Public Regulation Commission member and son of state House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, was considered the front-runner even before he officially entered the race late last year.

His supporters Tuesday night crowded into Hotel Santa Fe to munch on tamales and guacamole and listen to a mariachi band on one side of the room and a rock group on the other. Among the revelers was one of his opponents, Adams, who said he'd enthusiastically support Luján. "You couldn't find a better congressman than Ben Ray Luján," Adams said.

Wiviott conceded defeat shortly before midnight. "This campaign ends, but we hope that the people of northern New Mexico will both demand and receive greater opportunity from our political leadership," Wiviott said in a written statement.

Wiviott made no public appearance on election night. His campaign spokesman, Webster Cash, said earlier Tuesday that Wiviott would support whichever Democrat is nominated.

Shendo told a reporter he would back Luján. "I think we need to come together, the Democratic Party," he said in a telephone interview from Jemez Pueblo. Shendo, the first American Indian to seek federal office in New Mexico, said he's not sure if he will seek elected office again.

Shortly before midnight, Luján was leading with 23,890 votes to Wiviott's 14,967. In Santa Fe County, with all but one precinct reporting, Luján was beating Wiviott 7,967 to 4,584.

Luján was ahead in most counties in the congressional district, except for Los Alamos, Curry, Roosevelt and San Juan, where Wiviott was ahead, and McKinley County, which Shendo won.

Throughout the campaign, Luján enjoyed the support of the state Democratic establishment, thanks largely to his father. He was endorsed by Gov. Bill Richardson, whose financial backers were generous with campaign contributions. Luján also boasted of endorsements from environmental groups and former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, Tom Udall's father.

Wiviott's major asset in the race was his personal wealth. He contributed nearly $1.5 million to his campaign. His self-financing triggered a provision in federal campaign law called "the millionaire amendment," which allowed his opponents to triple the maximum contribution amount for individual supporters from $2,300 to $6,900. This allowed Luján to collect at least $625,000.

Both Luján and Wiviott advertised heavily on broadcast television. In the final weeks, the on-air campaign turned negative. Wiviott mocked Luján as a former blackjack dealer whose father got him high-level state jobs. The Wiviott ads attacked Luján for missing most meetings of a state commission to which he was appointed and for traveling out-of-state on PRC business.

Luján shot back with a commercial attacking Wiviott for running a Texas company implicated in a price fixing allegation by the Federal Trade Commission and for (successfully) suing the city of Santa Fe for rejecting one of his real-estate developments.

The race also was jolted in late May when at a candidate forum Shendo asked Luján a question about failing to be honest about his "lifestyle." Shendo later confirmed he was talking about Luján's sexual orientation. He accused Luján of lying about his relationship with the woman he calls his girlfriend.

Luján responded he wasn't hiding anything — and no proof came forward that he was. In his victory statement Tuesday, Luján referred indirectly to the controversy, saying, "My girlfriend, Dawn, endured more than she ever should have in this campaign, and she has been a steady and devoted presence at my side."

In the Republican primary, East beat Santa Fe lawyer Marco Gonzales, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. Gonzales had been endorsed by Domenici.

East racked up big margins in conservative counties such as San Juan, Roosevelt and Curry. He won Los Alamos by 47 votes, according to unofficial returns. He was ahead of Gonzales by just over 1,700 votes districtwide shortly before midnight.

Gonzales did best in counties with large Hispanic populations, such as Santa Fe County, which he took by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, and Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Taos and Mora counties.

While it's rare to have a contested Republican primary in the heavily Democratic district, the Gonzales/East race was low-key.

Gonzales ran as a moderate Republican while East presented himself as a traditional GOP conservative who supports the war in Iraq, lower taxes and less government involvement in businesses.

Although Democrats hold a 55 percent to 29 percent voter registration edge over Republicans in the 3rd Congressional District, there has been speculation about a possible upset, as happened in a special election 11 years ago.

That year, Republican Bill Redmond won over Democrat Eric Serna and Green Party candidate Carol Miller. Many believe Redmond, who was defeated by Tom Udall a year later, won that low-turnout election because many Democrats were angry with Serna, who was nominated by party leaders without holding a primary. Many Democrats apparently voted in protest for Miller — who this year is running as an independent.

While there's little evidence the Democrats are as fractured now as they were in 1997, the Luján-Wiviott ad war and Shendo's "lifestyle" bombshell created bitter feelings among the various factions.

Miller said this week that she's gathered 11,000 signatures, nearly twice as many as necessary to get on the ballot.

Another independent candidate, Santa Fe contractor Ron Simmons, might also get a ballot spot. Simmons said Tuesday that he'll submit about 8,000 signatures to the secretary of state today.

Columnist Jim Scarantino of Albuquerque — a moderate Republican who backed John Kerry in 2004 — said this week that he believes the northern congressional seat could be in play.

"I don't know if Ben Ray Luján can patch things up with white progressives and Hispanic reformers," said Scarantino. "There's quite a bit of resentment that Ben Luján put his son in Congress. ... There's a lot of progressive Hispanics who don't want to genuflect to the old bosses and extend the power of the bosses to a new generation."

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