Bernie Logue y Perea can't help but feel appreciated these days. Just about everywhere he goes, congressional candidates or "their people" want to talk.

He could be at a fundraiser, walking downtown or just checking his voice mail.

"They want to talk to me in the sense that my vote is something that they want," Logue y Perea said. "But they also want me to influence the people that I know, to pick up the phone and say good things about their candidate."

Logue y Perea is a ward chairman in Santa Fe, one of dozens in Northern New Mexico's Democrat-dominated 3rd Congressional District, where candidates are scrambling to replace five-term Rep. Tom Udall, a Democrat who's leaving his seat to run for the Senate.

Udall's aspirations follow a chain reaction touched off by the retirement announcement this fall of longtime U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, a Republican. Udall and both New Mexico Republicans in the House, Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce, are abandoning their seats to run for the Senate.

"Ever since Domenici announced, the dominoes went shlooosh," said Logue y Perea, 52, whose ward includes parts of Bishops Lodge and Canyon roads. All the candidates "are risking it all," he said, "because they're never going to have this opportunity for another 25 to 30 years. Everybody wants to be that guy."

Santa Fe County, one of 15 counties in the congressional district, has 24 wards and a clear Democratic tilt. Of its 89,000 registered voters, 57,000 are Democrats, according to recent state party figures. The district leans much the same way, making the Democratic primary winner a likely shoo-in for the general election.

Ward chairmen have more influence this election because candidates can get to the state primary in June only by mustering at least 20 percent of the delegate votes in March's pre-primary. Before this election, candidates also could reach the primary by gathering enough signatures, but a rule change eliminated that option. Ward chairmen often serve as delegates, and in the small world of ground-level politics, they routinely associate with other people likely to become delegates.

"It doesn't matter how much money these candidates raise in the next 10 weeks," said Gideon Elliott, 28, a Santa Fe Democratic activist. "What matters is how many supporters they can win over. That means getting their positions out there early and organizing now. They have to be ready to win in March, when the county meetings begin."

For weeks now, ward chairmen say, they have heard from all the candidates, as an early, tentative field of eight Democrats has dwindled to four: Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Luján, Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, state Indian Affairs Secretary Benny Shendo and Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott.

"Ward chairs talk politics to a lot of people," said Richard Ellenberg, 60, a chairman whose ward includes the Canyon Road area. "Retail politics is all about the grapevine."

Networking is the best thing a candidate can do at this stage, said Todd McElroy, 45, a ward chairman in the Casa Solana neighborhood who has managed campaigns and served as Democratic county vice chairman. "First thing I tell candidates is that you must get out and talk to voters, and the smallest group of most likely voters is party activists," he said.

Floyd Trujillo, 81, is a ward chairman whose father, E.D. Trujillo, was state auditor in the 1940s. "It's not easy to get delegates," he said at his commercial building on Cerrillos Road, where his office walls are covered with campaign memorabilia and photos of himself with past and present New Mexico political leaders. "(Candidates) have to do the work. They have to say what they're going to do for the county. Where do you stand on immigration, on taxes, on the war? There will be a lot of questions asked."

Many people, including Trujillo, agree that personalities and family connections will play important roles. While ward chairpeople are free to endorse candidates at this stage of the race, those who spoke with The New Mexican provided mostly measured assessments of how an already fluid race might shake out.

"Right now, there's a reason to believe one person is ahead of the pack, and that's Ben Ray Luján," Trujillo said. "Just with the acquaintances he has, and he's pretty well-known. He's a nice fellow, he's a young guy, and he comes from a good family, an honest family, a hard-working family."

Others have cast Luján, the son of powerful state House Speaker Ben Luján, as the front-runner, but Ellenberg called that premature. "He's certainly starting out good, but it's also certainly not a done deal. He's not an experienced candidate," Ellenberg said. "You could be surprised by how people do on the stump. Surprises are inevitable."

Of Wiviott, Ellenberg said: "He's had several months to hone his skills and hone his message."

Logue y Perea, discussing Ben Ray Luján, said, "I don't know that his father's influence is going to matter. This is one position where he'll have to earn it, and I can tell he's sincere. Ben Ray Luján wants to prove this on his own."

McElroy was prepared to help Javier Gonzales, but the New Mexico Highlands University regents chairman ruled out a run this month, citing family reasons and a desire to run for lieutenant governor in 2010.

Also dropping out of consideration this month were Española Mayor Joseph Maestas and Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano.

"Some people were fishing to find out their level of support," McElroy said. "I think some people made their decisions based on those telephone calls."

McElroy also discussed the election in ethnic terms. New Mexico, which is about 42 percent Hispanic, has not had a Hispanic congressional member since Gov. Bill Richardson left Washington in 1997 to become U.N. ambassador.

"As a white man, I think it's embarrassing that New Mexico is not represented by one single Hispanic in Congress," McElroy said. "New Mexico is this great example of what multiculturalism ought to be. ... Your delegation ought to represent the people."

Logue y Perea, a retired restaurateur who grew up in La Cienega, downplayed any ethnic factor and said he expects the election to come down to the issues and campaign organization. He recently launched a Web site, www.ward47a.com, to help keep voters informed on the candidates and the issues. Logue y Perea sees immigration, education and renewable energy, especially given the proposed drilling in the Galisteo Basin, as among the top concerns.

Meanwhile, as the telephone calls and fundraiser invitations keep flying in, he said, he plans to keep an open mind about whom he might support.

"I've been approached by most of them, and I'm just telling them the same thing, that I'm just staying neutral," Logue y Perea said. "I'm going to stay neutral until a week or two before the convention, and I don't even know if I'll (endorse a candidate) then."

Contact Doug Mattson at 986-3087 or dmattson@sfnewmexican.com.