United States Senate election in New Mexico, 2008
|
|||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
County results
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
The 2008 United States Senate election in New Mexico was held on November 4, 2008 coinciding with the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pete Domenici decided to retire instead of seeking a seventh term. All three of New Mexico's U.S. Representatives (Tom Udall, Steve Pearce, and Heather Wilson) chose to retire from the U.S. House of Representatives in order to run for the seat. Pearce defeated Wilson in the Republican primary. Udall won the Democratic primary unopposed and won the general election. Udall's win ended 36 years of Republican control of this seat.
In February 2007 Domenici indicated his intention to run for re-election. By October 2007, he changed his mind, stating that because of the progression of a medical condition, he would not seek a seventh term. Domenici also lost his chairmanship after Republicans lost control of the Senate in the 2006 Senate election, which may have inclined him against running. On June 3, 2008 Pearce and Udall won their respective nomination contests.
After Domenici announced he was not running, Democratic Governor Bill Richardson was considered a leading candidate for the seat, but in October he affirmed his commitment to his presidential nomination campaign.
In October Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez entered the race for the Democratic nomination. In early November five-term Democratic Rep. Tom Udall entered the race. On December 7 Chavez withdrew from the race, saying "While I deeply appreciate all the support I have received, it has become very clear to me that Democrats should not be divided in the upcoming election."
...
Wikipedia