RUIDOSO — Three days after winning the 2nd Congressional District primary, Republican nominee Ed Tinsley of Capitan defended his decision to maintain a second home in Santa Fe.

"Our home is here," Tinsley said Friday in an interview at his Lincoln County campaign headquarters. "We've lived here for the last 10 years. We spend most of our time here. But I will say this: We do have a second home."

Less than 24 hours after winning the Democratic nomination, Hobbs oilfield services businessman Harry Teague questioned Tinsley's ownership of a home in Santa Fe's upscale Las Campanas development.

"I would think that the people of the 2nd Congressional District would want their representative to live in the 2nd Congressional District. And he doesn't," Teague said Wednesday.

Tinsley said he spends about 90 percent of his time at his Lincoln County ranch in Southern New Mexico's 2nd District rather than the Las Campanas home in the 3rd District.

He said he and his wife bought the Santa Fe home after considering other areas. "We looked in other states: Colorado, Arizona and Texas," Tinsley said. "We decided we wanted a place where we'd be able to load our dogs on a pickup and travel to a second home."

The argument is not new: Tinsley has been fighting criticism by political opponents about his Santa Fe home for years. The issue surfaced during the 2002 GOP primary, when he lost a five-way race to Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M. This year, Pearce vacated the seat and won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Two Republican challengers in this year's primary, C. Earl Greer and Aubrey Dunn Jr., also raised the residency question. Tinsley won the nomination in Tuesday's election with 31 percent of the vote in another five-way GOP primary.

He said he has used his Santa Fe home regularly as an operating base for business travel. He owns the K-Bob's steakhouse chain and has served as chairman of the National Restaurant Association.

"If I could just make a living on our ranch, our home, that would be my preference," Tinsley said. "But I've had to operate restaurants in multiple states. I've also in recent years been very active in the restaurant association. I'm traveling. It puts me on the road quite a bit.

"With my business the way it is now, I probably spend 90 percent of my time here," he said. "But it hasn't always been that way. It's been a deal where we've had to balance out a lot of other issues and obligations."

It's not surprising to see Teague attack Tinsley so quickly in the general election campaign. Democrats believe they have a solid chance of picking up the seat that Republicans have held since 1981.

"It is a relevant deal," Teague said. "I wouldn't want my representative living outside my district. If we don't ask our representatives to live in our district, next thing you know, they won't even live in our state."




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