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Emergency Medical Technicians were across the street from the Bernalillo bank parking where Paige McKenzie was attacked.

An ambulance took her quickly to the University of New Mexico Hospital.

And McKenzie counts among her friends a New Mexico sheriff and a GOP gubernatorial candidate.

But there are no clues as to who may have attacked McKenzie or why. She remained at the University of New Mexico Hospital today.

McKenzie, a spokeswoman for Republican John Dendahl, was assaulted Wednesday night as she drove home.

She apparently stopped to fix a flat tire around 7:20 p.m. when she was attacked, said Bernalillo Police Chief Fred Radosevich.

She suffered a broken jaw and several broken teeth, and could have been attacked with a tire iron, Dendahl said.

Police have no motive and no suspect. They haven't been able to talk to McKenzie, who is hooked up to a breathing tube.

Police today sought a search warrant to look through McKenzie's vehicle for clues.

"We just want to go through her car to see if we can find anything that helps us," he said.

Early Thursday, Dendahl said McKenzie had said she recognized her attacker. Later, he said it's not clear if that's the case.

"I don't know whether she knew the attacker or not," he said.

McKenzie, in her 30s, has worked on several New Mexico campaigns, including for U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson and former Albuquerque City Councilor Mike McEntee. She's also a former executive director of the Bernalillo County Republican Party who has written for NewsMax, a conservative news magazine.

Dendahl spoke highly of the woman running his campaign against Gov. Bill Richardson.

"Philosophically on her own, she's quite conservative," he said. "She's very smart, a good researcher and a decent writer."

"She's just a lovely young woman in every respect," he said. Of McKenzie's attacker, he added: "I'd like to be the one putting a noose around his neck and opening the trap door."

Dendahl said he doesn't believe the attack was motivated by politics.

"I would be shocked to hear otherwise," he said.

Richardson said in a statement he was shocked "by this brutal, senseless attack."

Friends said McKenzie's family members were expected to travel to Albuquerque Thursday.

The men who helped McKenzie after the attack were about 100 yards away, separated by N.M. 550 and getting gas when dispatchers alerted them to a 911 call of a woman who had been beaten and was lying in a bank parking lot.

They realized the bank was across the street, said Kyle Thorton, deputy fire chief and EMS chief with Bernalillo County fire and rescue.

"They were there getting gas and they didn't hear anything," Thorton said. "I think they felt a little badly about that."

Thorton said he didn't know whether McKenzie called 911 herself.

"You'd think they would have heard something, but it may have already occurred," he said. "Who knows how much time had passed."

Dendahl, who aims to unseat Richardson Nov. 7, said he isn't sure the direction his campaign will take now.

"Today, all my energy has gone into agonizing over her," he said. "She's been a key part of the campaign and I can't imagine she's going to be back before the election."