ALBUQUERQUE — It was political muscle versus deep pockets for the chief Democratic contenders in the race to succeed Tom Udall as congressman from northern New Mexico's 3rd District.

Top candidates in a six-way primary contest Tuesday for the nomination were Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Lujan, son of the powerful speaker of the state House, and Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott.

The two battled for the lead in early returns, with Lujan getting 42 percent of the vote to Wiviott's 32 percent with just over one-quarter of precincts reporting.

On the Republican side, Dan East, a utilities contractor from Rio Rancho, led Santa Fe lawyer Marco Gonzales in early returns. East had 59 percent of the vote, with one-fourth of the precincts reporting. Gonzales had the endorsement of longtime U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici.

Newcomer Wiviott fueled his campaign largely with his own money, pumping more than $1.34 million into his primary run and outspending Lujan by more than three-to-one as of mid-May.

Lujan countered with a string of endorsements from influential environmental and labor organizations, elected officials, and an elder statesman with a magic name — former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, father of the sitting congressman.

The winner would have a leg up in November because the district is heavily Democratic, although a three-way race is in the offing. Independent Carol Miller, who has run for Congress before, was poised to file on Wednesday for the general election.

Trailing Lujan and Wiviott were Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, former Indian Affairs Secretary Benny Shendo Jr., former Assistant Attorney General Jon Adams and Dixon lawyer Rudy Martin.

The district is large — roughly the northern half of the state — and diverse, including liberal Santa Fe and the heavily Hispanic region to the north of it, the northwest oil-and-gas center of Farmington, conservative east-side farming and ranching communities, and predominantly Indian areas, with voters from 16 tribes.

Lujan had the advantage of being elected from a northern PRC district, but it's his first public office and he's only in his first term. His bigger boost came from his well-connected father, Ben Lujan, who is one of the most powerful people in the Capitol. And he got a last-minute endorsement from Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, who represented the 3rd District for nearly 15 years.

Lujan and Wiviott, as the clear front-runners, took shots at each other in their advertising. Wiviott painted Lujan as an inexperienced former casino worker who was riding his father's coattails and who had skipped meetings of a health care commission to which he was appointed. Lujan assailed Wiviott's business practices as a "multimillionaire developer."

Udall is leaving his safe House seat to run for Domenici's Senate seat.




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