Down the Homestretch: New Mexico’s 1st District (Open Seat)

Washington Wire takes a look at what’s at stake in key House races. Easha Anand reports on the 2008 elections. The Situation: The candidates battling to replace retiring Republican Rep. Heather Wilson are both trying to get as much help as they can from their national political parties — while keeping their heads down. Former Albuquerque city council member Martin Heinrich , the Democrat, ducked cameras at his fund-raiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi . Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White , the Republican, is playing down his ties to President George W. Bush . The Republican: Sheriff Darren White’s reputation for fighting gangs helped to get him re-elected in heavily Democratic Bernalillo County (Albuquerque). However, he has faced questions about his ties to Bush: He chaired the president’s 2004 campaign in the county, and the recent Department of Justice report on the firings of U.S. attorneys suggests that White had a role in the politicization of ... (link)