Udall brings in $2.1 million over three-month period

Pearce's fundraising totals to be announced July 15, spokesman says

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

7/7/2008 - 7/8/08

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall raised more than $2.1 million for his campaign during the last three months, his campaign announced Monday.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Republican candidate Steve Pearce declined Monday to say how much Pearce's campaign has raised, saying the figure would be disclosed July 15, the deadline for submitting campaign finance reports. "We've been consistent in waiting for the deadline to announce that in every period," spokesman Brian Phillips said.

Udall's announcement did not say how much he spent or list campaign contributors. That information will be on his report, which he will file next week.

Udall, who is giving up his U.S. House seat in the northern 3rd Congressional District, has raised about $5 million for his Senate bid. Pearce, as of May 14, had reported raising more than $1.8 million.

Pearce, who also is a congressman, has been at a major financial disadvantage since the outset of the Senate campaign. Unlike Udall, who had no primary competition, Pearce faced U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson in a hard-fought and close primary battle.

By mid-May, about three weeks before the June primary, Pearce had only $248,000 cash on hand, less than 10 percent of Udall's total.

However, since then, Udall has been spending some of his cash reserves on television commercials.

Since the primary, he has aired five different television ads. His most recent one focuses on anti-drunken-driving reforms Udall backed when he was state attorney general in the 1990s.

Pearce has yet to begin advertising for the general election.

Last month, pollster Brian Sanderoff of Research and Polling Inc. theorized that Udall was advertising early to try to head off large amounts of national Republican money going to Pearce.

"Early Udall TV media will inflate Udall's polling numbers, thereby increasing the possibility that the Republicans in Washington would make this a 'B List' priority rather than a top priority, " Sanderoff told The New Mexican. "That would not be good news for Pearce."

Indeed, Udall's poll numbers have shown him to have a wide lead over Pearce. A Rasmussen telephone survey (of 500 likely voters conducted June 18) showed Udall with 58 percent of the vote, to Pearce's 30 percent. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

According to information compiled by the campaign finance watchdog Web site OpenSecrets.org, the major sources of Udall's support are lawyers and law firms, who as of May 14 had contributed more than $366,000, followed by Democratic and liberal interest groups, who gave more than $322,000. Pearce's biggest source of contributions is the oil industry, which has given more than $201,000 to his campaign, followed by Republican and conservative groups, which had donated more than $120,000 as of May 14.

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