The first clash of the Senate campaign between Republicans Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce will play out today in Washington, D.C., where the House of Representatives is expected to vote on President Bush's veto of expansion of SCHIP, a health care plan for poor children.

That's because New Mexico's two Republican House representatives have split on this flash-point issue.

Wilson, as befits her image as a more moderate Republican, voted with the Democratic majority to add $35 billion to SCHIP over the next five years. Consider it another notch in her her election-year makeover.

The Albuquerque representative has been moving as much to the center as possible in preparation for a Senate run — New Mexican voters don't like extremists on either the left or the right. Image, of course, doesn't necessarily jibe with reality. Wilson has been a strong supporter of Bush and the war, two positions that stand to hurt her as the campaign unfolds into the general election.

Pearce, however, hasn't broken with Bush — and that tendency to stick the with president, no matter the issue, is one that will matter should he become the nominee. He's the most conservative candidate in the primary, and while that might please Republican primary voters, it won't attract the moderate voters he will need to win come November.

Right now, unless Pearce changes his mind, he would remain the only member of the New Mexico congressional delegation to oppose SCHIP. Even Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, the strong fiscal conservative and the man Wilson and Pearce want to replace, voted to extend health care coverage to more children.

The health bill that went to the president for signature was a carefully crafted compromise, a bi-partisan approach broadly supported by Republicans and
Democrats. It's paid for by a 61-cent increase in the cigarette tax and would extend coverage to an additional
4 million children, including 27,900 in New Mexico.

These children's parents make too much to be covered by Medicaid, but too little to buy private health insurance. We pay as taxpayers when these children get sick, because they often end up in an emergency room. SCHIP, then, is a safety net that provides better health care for children — and as its strong support shows, it's a safety net that works.

Here's the dilemma for Pearce. Both he and Wilson are trying to paint themselves as the best successor to Domenici, as well as the strongest candidate to win a general election against the Democratic nominee.

Siding with a minority of Republicans and an unpopular president to kill a measure that the public overwhelmingly supports might show moral courage on Pearce's part. He can spin his vote as a stance against excessive spending or against government intervention in health care. Those are complex explanations, though.

His opponents will counter that he voted against poor kids — a much easier point to hammer home, and one that Democrats will be using against Republicans across the country during the 2008 election season.

Opposing health insurance for needy children is a decision that will dog Pearce as this campaign unfolds. Unless, of course, he votes against Bush today.

A Senate override of Bush's veto is likely, but most observers don't think the House Republicans will abandon the president — 15 is the magic number to override.

As Steve Pearce considers his political future, he might think of the children and decide whether he sides with sick kids or President Bush. Either way, Pearce will be explaining his vote for months to come.