Congressional Tidbits

You know, I must admit at first I was a real skeptic of Earl Greer and his candidacy for congress. But with the recent endorsement of State Senator Dianne Hamilton as well as the endorsement of former U.S. Rep. Foreman, Greer is beginning to look like a serious candidate, VERY serious. From what I have heard, he has been able to raise money, but has relied mostly on name recognition.

Add these factors as well as his performance in the Republican Pre-primary convention; there is a real race in the south. Aubrey Dunn and Ed Tinsley will have to put up big bucks, and even though Earl may have less than those two, he can still compete, especially when it comes to debate.

I was able to meet him at the nominating convention, and Greer seems real genuine. Dunn is not a bad guy, just not the best speaker. Tinsley seemed only interested in talking to only his supporters.

The truth is, I see this race really coming down to Greer and Dunn. Hobbs mayor Monty Newman has had no exposure in Dona Ana. Where is he, and what is he waiting for? Greg Sowards has some great ideas, but they seem to only attract the Ron Paul followers.

Then we move to the North. Here we have a very interesting race between a very wealthy developer and the son of the Speaker of the House. Don Wiviott and Ben Ray Lujan are battling it out to replace Congressman Tom Udall. Wiviott, who has poured hundreds of thousands of his own cash is looking to put Santa Fe's liberal interests at the forefront of his campaign. Which isn't a bad thing, but there are many others in that district that aren't from Santa Fe. Lujan seems to have the edge with the rest of the heavily Democratic Hispanic (and fairly conservative) vote. Lujan is expected to win, but he should be careful not to be undercut by Wiviott and his fat checkbook.