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Air Force vs. Air Force.

Intellect vs. Intellect.

Conservative vs. Conservative (until the term Moderate is more convenient).

New Mexico Republicans are lining up their own Super Bowl for next year, a Heather Wilson vs. Steve Pearce primary showdown that promises to be every bit as competitive and difficult as the general election that awaits the winner in November.

The survivor gets a shot at the U.S. Senate. The loser is out of politics, at least for the short term.

The stakes cannot be higher.

Perhaps because we've become accustomed to her, and her ever-present yellow yard signs in Albuquerque, it's reflexive to think Wilson has the advantage. By virtue of demographics, if nothing else, she's more familiar to more people - and as a variety of Democrats have discovered over the years, she can swing an elbow or two when things get tough.

But there's something about Pearce, the little-known - at least in these parts - congressman from Hobbs that makes me think the upcoming primary is going to be the toughest fight of Wilson's political career. By far.

Pearce, not unlike the area he represents, is conservative to the marrow. And in a primary, where candidates must appeal to a more fevered base before they turn their attention to the softer, more moderate center, his unbending support of the Iraq war and rock-ribbed conservatism may play better.

But there's also something about Pearce - call it a hunch, maybe - that suggests he never does anything, anything, without a pretty involved plan. I doubt his campaign style will get anyone's blood boiling, but it's hard to imagine him being pummeled in a debate, or struggling for the right way to describe how he feels about Iraq.

Without ambition - without a plan - Pearce could be in the New Mexico Legislature, yammering about House Bill 2 as hundreds of others have done for years.

Nope. When Congressman Joe Skeen's seat came open during the 2002 cycle, Pearce looked, leaped - and won. Outside Lea and maybe Eddy counties, he probably wasn't the best-known name in the primary. He didn't have the endorsement of the well-liked incumbent, Joe Skeen.

Didn't matter. Pearce had a plan.

Even Pearce's delay in announcing a bid - he waited two weeks, Wilson waited one day - for Sen. Pete Domenici's seat suggests a man who moves only when he knows all the pieces are in place.

Does all that make him a winner against Wilson? Course not. But it does make him a threat - a worthy opponent.

Wilson, of course, is formidable, if only because she is brilliant at playing to her conservative side when the heat's off and moving to the middle when the burners are back on (see her views on the Iraq war).

Balance that just right, and you can not only survive a primary fight but also be in good shape in a general election, where Wilson has traditionally picked up just enough Democrats to get her over the top. Wilson election nights are always a perils-of-Pauline adventure: frightening at 10:30 p.m., but secure by 3 a.m.

There's also this: She's just very smart. Smart enough to know that being Hobbs-conservative will never get you re-elected in metro Albuquerque.

Of course, there's a lot of bunting to concentrate on when Wilson meets Pearce. She's Air Force Academy. He's an ex-Air Force pilot. Both have seen life when Republicans ruled Washington, and both have seen life in the back of the bus.

Both hate losing with a white-hot passion.

Add it all up, and you might have the best race of 2008.