About a week after the bruising Republican Senate primary, Democratic Senate candidate Tom Udall hit New Mexico airwaves with his latest television ad, not mentioning his GOP opponent Steve Pearce by name, but blasting the "George Bush economy" and rising gas, food and health care prices.

"The George Bush economy is crushing America," an announcer says as the screen shows images of a man at a gas station, a woman with a child in a grocery store and another man in a doctor's office. "Gas prices at record highs. Food prices climbing higher every day. And health care, unaffordable for too many in New Mexico."

Then Udall appears standing in front of a tree on a green lawn. "I'm Tom Udall and we have to get serious about alternative energy," he says. "That will lower gas and food prices. And I've fought to give every small business access to the same health care plan we have in Congress. I've approved this message because we have to make the economy work for the middle class again."

The Udall ads come at a time in which he has a huge financial advantage over Pearce. Udall, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, had more than $2.8 million cash on hand, according to the most recent figures available on OpenSecrets.org, a campaign finance watchdog site.

In comparison, Pearce, who survived a tough primary fight with fellow U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, had only $248,245 cash on hand — less than 10 percent of Udall's money.

Most expect the financial gap between Udall and Pearce to narrow over the summer as national parties and interest groups start pouring money into the campaigns.

The conventional wisdom is that both sides will fight hard for the New Mexico Senate seat, being vacated by six-term Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, because the race could be crucial in determining whether Democrats win a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

But pollster Brian Sanderoff of Research and Polling in Albuquerque said Friday that Udall's early ads could be a pre-emptive strike in hopes of derailing Pearce's national GOP money train.

"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 said. "That would not be good news for Pearce."

Sanderoff noted remarks made by Nevada Sen. John Ensign, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, at a luncheon last week. According to an account in The Wall Street Journal, Ensign listed the New Mexico race among the top 10 competitive Senate contests this year.

The story said that two of the races — Virginia and New Mexico — "are heavily favored at this point to flip to Democratic control."

Asked if the committee was mulling walking away from these two races to focus resources elsewhere, Ensign was noncommittal, but added, "You don't waste money on races that don't need it or you can't win."

Indeed, recent polls show Udall with a wide lead over Pearce. A June 2 SurveyUSA/KOB television poll — published a day before the primary — showed Udall leading Peace 60 percent to 35 percent.

The ad

Udall's ad might seem as if he's running against Bush, not a guy named Pearce. While not confronting Pearce directly, he blames high prices and other economic woes on the Bush administration. This allows Udall to identify his opponent with an unpopular president without attacking Pearce — or helping the Republican overcome his name-recognition gap.

More importantly, it's an attempt to capitalize on frustrations of voters of every political stripe.

A 30-second commercial doesn't present much of an opportunity to talk about solutions to the problems it portrays.

Udall says the country "has to get serious about alternative energy," which he said would reduce gasoline and food costs.

But his solution is a long-term proposal, not designed for quick relief. A "fact sheet" accompanying his ad on his campaign Web site points out that Udall sponsored legislation last year that would mandate 15 percent of America's energy portfolio to come from renewable sources by the year 2020.

As for the health care problem, Udall says he's "fought to give every small business access to the same health care plan we have in Congress." Indeed he has co-sponsored legislation that would allow small businesses to get in on the congressional health plan.

Referring to this ad and previous Udall spots, Sanderoff said, "All of the Udall messages portray him as a moderate (e.g. crime fighter as state attorney general; father was a WWII vet, etc.) This is a smart strategy because it inoculates him from the onslaught that is about to come regarding Udall being accused of being too liberal."

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

ON THE WEB
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