With the 2012 primary election filing day only four months away, House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, said Monday he still hasn't decided whether to seek a 19th term in the Legislature.

"That's for me to decide," the House leader — who survived his last primary election contest by less than 100 votes — said Monday when asked by a reporter whether he's going to run for re-election.

Luján, 75, said he'll wait to see what happens in the courts with redistricting issues before making his decision. Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed the Legislature's plan for drawing up new House district boundaries. That and other redistricting plans will be decided in state court.

Luján, a former Santa Fe County commissioner and an ironworker by profession, first was elected to his District 46 seat in the Legislature in 1974. He was elected to the speaker's position in 2001.

By the nature of the job — and his own political savvy — Luján still is considered the most powerful man in the Legislature. The speaker has the sole power of deciding who gets named to House committees and which committees will hear a bill.

But since 2010 he's seen some of that power slip.

Democrats currently hold a shaky majority in the House, and Luján no longer has a friendly Democrat in the Governor's Office. The speaker was a close ally of Gov. Bill Richardson, who left office at the end of last year.

Luján barely survived last year's primary when political newcomer Carl Trujillo surprised almost everyone by nearly ousting Luján.

Then, after Democrats lost eight House seats in the general election last year, the speaker faced a leadership challenge from another Democrat, Rep. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces. Many believed that Cervantes, who tried to form a coalition with dissident Democrats and Republicans, had lined up enough votes to defeat Luján.

However, in a surprising twist, the Cervantes challenge failed because several tea-party organizations around the state frightened away enough Republican House members from backing any Democrat for speaker.

That was the second attempted coup against Luján. Four years earlier he was challenged by House Majority Leader Kenny Martinez, D-Grants.

Luján's son, Ben Ray Luján, is serving his second term in Congress, representing the heavily Democratic 3rd Congressional District.

If Luján does decide to seek another term, he's got a good start in campaign funds. According to his latest report, filed last month with the Secretary of State's Office, Luján's campaign has nearly $93,000 in the bank.

Attempts to reach Trujillo were not successful Monday. He still has a campaign blog, but there have been no new posts there since shortly after the 2010 primary.

Filing day for legislative candidates is March 20.

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