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WASHINGTON — The Democratic senator who is supposed to help elect more Democratic senators next year says he is continuing to talk to potential candidates in New Mexico.

And Sen. Charles Schumer of New York says he may back one candidate over another in the June 3 primary.

Schumer, chairman of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told reporters in Washington on Wednesday he wants to make sure the strongest candidate prevails to face either of the Republican congressmen running for the GOP nomination - Heather Wilson of Albuquerque or Steve Pearce of Hobbs.

"We're just assessing the situation right now. We are talking to people. We're talking to all of them. And we'll make a determination as to what's best," said Schumer.

"Sometimes we get behind a candidate. And sometimes we don't get behind a candidate because we think everyone is strong and that doesn't help things. We haven't crossed that bridge at this point," said Schumer.

Schumer's continued recruiting efforts are no help to Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, who announced for the Senate earlier this month after Sen. Pete Domenici, an Albuquerque Republican, announced he would not seek re-election because he is suffering from a deteriorating condition of the frontal lobe in his brain.

Schumer's comments got a cool reception from Chavez's campaign, whose manager, Mark Fleisher, said: "While Martin Chavez has great respect for Senator Schumer, New Mexicans, not New Yorkers, get to decide who will be the next U. S. senator from New Mexico.

"Marty Chavez is confident he will garner the support of New Mexicans in the upcoming election."

Schumer did not say with whom he spoke about the New Mexico race. But one potential candidate who has been persuaded to bide her time on a decision is Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. Her communications director, Kate Nelson, told The Tribune that Denish has had more conversations with people in Washington urging her "to not close the door on this opportunity."

The campaign committee also is aware of a blog started by those who are hoping to persuade Rep. Tom Udall, Santa Fe Democrat, to change his mind about not seeking the Senate seat.

One name coming up less frequently is that of Gov. Bill Richardson, who is running for president and who has said publicly that he would finish his last two years as governor if that effort fails.

Schumer did not mention Richardson directly, but he acknowledged that he has been unsuccessful in 2006 and this year in persuading Democratic governors to run for the Senate in the middle of their term.

Denish, who could be the favorite to succeed Richardson, faces a choice similar to that of Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat. A popular state auditor, McCaskill lost a race for governor in 2004 and was eying a second bid in 2008 when Schumer persuaded her to run against Republican Sen. Jim Talent instead in 2006.

Schumer also pointed to Sens. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, and Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, as candidates the campaign committee recruited and publicly favored in 2006.

"What Democrats have done in the past is sort of throw up the cards and see where they've come down and not mixing in until after the primary," said Schumer.

"That led to us losing too many seats, whether the strongest candidate didn't run or didn't win. We don't always intervene. And we don't have an inclination to intervene or not intervene. The goal is to win."