3rd Congressional Race: Luján outraises opponents by wide margin
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Wiviott has more cash on hand, thanks to $565,000 infusion of his own money
4/15/2008 - 4/16/08
In the hotly contested Democratic primary race for the 3rd Congressional District seat, Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Luján raised $328,740, nearly three times the amount of money than did his closest opponent, Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott, in the first three months of the year, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday.However, thanks to the $565,000 that Wiviott has kicked in, on top of the $109,504 he raised from supporters, his campaign had $433,375 cash-on-hand March 31 compared to Luján's $271,920. And in a race in which most of the six candidates have little name recognition, state experts say money translates into television ads, which in turn translate into greater name recognition and, in theory at least, more votes.
"The average voter does not know any of them," said longtime New Mexico pollster Brian Sanderoff of Research & Polling Inc. "They're out there trying to establish name recognition."
Referring to one of Wiviott's ads, Sanderoff said: "Wiviott's spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to get people to pronounce his name correctly. ... He's got a shot at winning, but he has to spend a ton of money to make that shot. And that's what he's doing."
Luján, a native Hispanic from Santa Fe County who has a politically well-connected father, House Speaker Ben Luján, normally would be favored, "all things being equal," Sanderoff said.
But he added all thing's aren't equal, mainly because of Wiviott's money.
Also, Sanderoff noted, another candidate in the primary is Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, like Ben Ray Luján, a native Hispanic and an elected official. While Montoya, who doesn't have the resources or family connections of Luján, is a long shot, Sanderoff said, the commissioner could eat into Luján's support.
University of New Mexico political science professor Lonna Atkeson said Tuesday that Wiviott's money is creating a new dynamic in the race. "The thing is, Wiviott has his own I don't know how many millions, and that's going to drive the cost of the campaign up for other players, because he can spend well and he has kind of limitless pockets," she said.
Wiviott's huge contributions to himself invoked a law called "The Millionaire Amendment," which allows opponents to triple the maximum amount of contributions they receive from donors — from $2,300 to $6,900.
Atkeson said voters should expect all the money in the race to translate into mailers and television ads as it gets closer to the primary.
So far, only Wiviott and Luján are advertising on television. Montoya — who told a reporter he raised about $64,000 and has about $52,000 in his treasury — said there's not much of a chance he'll be able to raise the funds to advertise on broadcast television, but he's hoping to start commercials on cable television systems in the district.
Of the other three candidates in the Democratic primary, former state Indian Affairs secretary Benny Shendo Jr. reported raising $113,626 during the first quarter and having $79,490 cash on hand; Santa Fe lawyer Jon Adams raised $17,374 and has $12,279 in the bank; and Dixon lawyer Rudy Martin said he's raised $2,046 in contributions, loaned his campaign another $7,512 and has $1,719 cash in hand.
Luján's campaign, in a news release Tuesday, said Luján would not accept any money from companies regulated by the Public Regulation Commission or from federal lobbyists.
However, as was the case in his previous campaign finance report, several lobbyists at the state Legislature contributed. These include Bob Barberous ($2,300); Maurice Bonal ($1,000); Tom Horan ($1,300); and Dan Weaks ($2,300).
And though Gov. Bill Richardson has made no endorsements in the race for his old congressional seat, Luján also continues to get support from major Richardson contributors. Albuquerque racetrack owner Paul Blanchard and his wife gave Luján a total of $12,000; Hobbs oilman Johnny Cope gave $6,900; and Santa Fe lawyer Bill Robins gave $2,300 in the last quarter, bringing his total contributions to Luján up to $4,600.
While Luján doesn't have Wiviott's personal fortune, he apparently does have the backing of one of New Mexico's wealthiest families, the Maloofs, whose business interests include a Las Vegas, Nev., casino, the Sacramento Kings professional basketball team and a beer distributorship in New Mexico.
Colleen, Gavin and Joseph Maloof of Albuquerque and George and Phil Maloof of Las Vegas, Nev., each contributed $4,600, while Sharon Maloof of Santa Fe gave another $1,000 and Adrienne Maloof-Nassif of Las Vegas, Nev., gave $4,600. The total amount the Maloof family gave Luján was $28,600.
Besides himself, Wiviott's largest contributor was Sarah Demetrowitz of Mitchellville, Md., who gave $2,500. There were several $2,300 contributions, including Garrett Thornburg of Thornburg Mortgage Inc. in Santa Fe.
In the Republican primary, Rio Rancho businessman Dan East raised $34,406 and reported $16,235 still in the bank. The report of his primary opponent, Santa Fe lawyer Marco Gonzales, was not available Tuesday.
Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com and Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com.
