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Pete Domenici announces he will not seek re-election to U.S. Senate

By Kate Nash
Originally published 08:01 a.m., October 4, 2007
Updated 12:27 p.m., October 4, 2007

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For a moment, the end of Pete Domenici's nearly half-century career in New Mexico politics created a void that could only be measured in silence.

Politicians who usually wag their tongues near a TV camera or reporter's notebook offered either news-release platitudes — or outright no-comments. Some became nearly invisible.

That, of course, was just a front. For those who want his seat, a New Mexico without Pete Domenici in the U.S. Senate means there's a new world of possibility.

A new world to consider. A new world to chase.

"It turns it all on its head," said Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, a Democrat who until Wednesday was focused squarely on seeking her party's nomination for governor in 2010.

Now, she says, she'll take this sudden opening into account.

Others almost certainly will follow suit. For top-tier politicians such as Gov. Bill Richardson, U.S. Reps. Heather Wilson, Tom Udall and Steve Pearce, and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, the prospect of hunting an open Senate seat — Domenici's seat — will be a mouth-watering morsel to chew on in the next several months.

For now, most are willing — if not demanding — to let Domenici have a final moment in the sun. In the hometown he loves, near the place where he grew up, the Albuquerque Republican announced this afternoon he won't seek re-election in 2008 after six terms in Washington.

Domenici, whose political career began as an Albuquerque city commissioner in the 1960s, will make the announcement today at St. Mary's School in Downtown Albuquerque. He will cite a neurological disease as the reason for his retirement, according to a draft of his speech obtained by the Associated Press.

There is symmetry in the site of the announcement: St. Mary's is the high school from which Domenici graduated, and it was the hub of his childhood neighborhood.

As recently as a few weeks ago, Domenici seemed bent on keeping his address in Washington, D.C. At 75, he'd pledged to run for re-election and had raised more than $1.7 million for the bid. President Bush in August held a fund-raiser in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque for Domenici.

His decision to run again — and most likely, win again — might have been taken for granted except for the firings late last year of eight U.S. attorneys, including Republican David Iglesias of Albuquerque.

Iglesias dropped a bombshell when he said he received calls from Domenici and Wilson shortly before the Nov. 7 elections regarding an ongoing corruption investigation of prominent New Mexico Democrats. Iglesias said he felt pressured by the calls, and that he believes Domenici and Wilson may have played a role in his firing.

Domenici denied asking Iglesias about whether indictments would be filed before the election, and he later apologized. But Iglesias hammered home the message time and again that he felt betrayed by Domenici, whom he considered a mentor and a friend.

The Senate ethics committee is still investigating Domenici's role in the firings. But while the controversy might end in nothing more than a hand-slap, the senator's poll numbers slipped below the 50 percent mark for the first time in recent memory.

Domenici's decision to retire — predicted by a few Democrats but a shock to most others, including leaders in the state Republican Party — promises a political scene far different from the one most contemplated just 24 hours earlier.

"I think everyone is re-evaluating the political landscape as we speak," said state Democratic Party chairman Brian Colon.

"We have an open seat, and it's not just an unusual event for New Mexico. It's an unusual event in the country."

The intrigue is particularly potent in Albuquerque, which anchors the 1st Congressional District. That seat is occupied by Wilson, whose political career Domenici promoted for years.

But Wilson is far from the only top-tier candidate who is seen as a potential successor. Just about every major state politician might give consideration to a Senate run.

"Whereas little-known or unknown candidates were considering running against Domenici, now we will see a new group of much more prominent Democrats enter into the fray," said Albuquerque pollster Brian Sanderoff.

Sanderoff said Democrats will be eager to seize upon the rare opportunity to enter the world of congressional politics — a place where vacant U.S. Senate seats arise only infrequently

Also, Senate elections typically favor incumbents, meaning Domenici's eventual replacement faces good odds that they will have a long tenure, Sanderoff said.

So far, it's the Democrats who are talking the most about who will try to step into Domenici's shoes. Republicans for the most part are holding their tongues, waiting for Domenici to speak.

The heaviest hitter, Sanderoff said, would be Gov. Bill Richardson, in the midst of a presidential run.

"He would be the toughest Democrat, the strongest Democrat to be put up," he said.

Richardson's office was quick to retort: He's running for president and president only.

If Richardson stays out, other Democrats certainly will want in. Even Denish, very public in her wish to succeed Richardson in 2010, said she'd think about the Senate.

"I think I'll take a second look at it, but I feel like I'm on my path to run for governor," she said.

Any move by Denish will be watched carefully by her archrival, Chavez, who has never hidden his interest in a Senate run if Domenici left the scene.

"The senator has not made an announcement. I think out of courtesy to him, let's see what his announcement is," Chavez said.

There are other Democratic possibilities as well. Former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid said she's considering a run. There's also U.S. Rep. Tom Udall of Santa Fe, a onetime state attorney general with plenty of name recognition.

Former U.S. Attorney John Kelly is another possibility. He said this morning he'll think about entering the contest but will wait to see what Richardson, Denish and Udall decide.

Republican possibilities are no less intriguing. Sanderoff said Wilson and Pearce, of Hobbs, were the "first names to come to mind." Both would have to give up their congressional seat to seek the Senate nomination, something Wilson — who has retained her seat by narrow margins — might be more likely to relinquish.

"In the case of Heather Wilson, being pummeled with negative campaigns every two years and having razor-thin margins of victory, it's got to get old after a while," Sanderoff said.

Wilson's response to Domenici's announcement? A statement on how much the senior senator has meant to her — and to the state.

"Pete Domenici has been a mentor and an inspiration to me, and I will support whatever decision he makes . . ." Wilson said.

Like Wilson, other Republicans said little Wednesday.

Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who appears eager to run for something else, declined to comment. State Republican Party spokesman Scott Darnell said the party wouldn't talk about potential candidates until after Domenici's announcement.

State Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons said he's one of the only Republicans in recent memory to win consecutive statewide elections. He said this morning he is seriously considering a run for U.S. Senate and would make a decision in the next week.

Along with creating a local earthquake, the end of Domenici's era is big news on Capitol Hill, where several longtime Republican senators are stepping down, said University of New Mexico political science professor Christine Sierra.

"We'll join the shifting national political landscape, where the close numbers in the U.S. Senate are being watched very closely to see if the Democrats can change the majority," Sierra said.

Tribune reporter Erik Siemers contributed to this report.