Domenici Jr raises $260,000 in first six weeks

Updated March 5 - 9:34a

The Domenici for Governor Campaign announced Monday night that it has raised $260,000 in the first six weeks after launching his campaign.

“This support reflects the strong welcome Pete’s campaign has received from people who believe that he is a solid Republican who has the respect, backing, and state-wide exposure to win the governor’s office.” Domenici Campaign Director Doug Antoon said.

A list of contributors is available online.

Domenici Jr has contributed $50,000 to his own campaign -- the single largest contributor listed in the report.

“This support reflects the strong welcome Pete’s campaign has received from people who believe that he is a solid Republican who has the respect, backing and state-wide exposure to win the governor’s office,” Campaign Director Doug Antoon said in a news release.

Political contributions become more transparent

“Janice Arnold-Jones was the first Republican to list her contributors on her Web site, and I am proud to follow her example,” Domenici said in the release.

Since January, Arnold-Jones has been posting on her campaign Web site information about every contribution she’s received to date, and she is keeping the list of contributions current. Domenici didn’t say if he plans to constantly update his list or release new information periodically. Antoon previously said the campaign hoped to release information about contributors at least monthly.

The next required finance report is due on April 12, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denishstarted the trend of voluntarily releasing reports quarterly, even in off-election years when it’s not required, more than two years ago. Her most recent report came in January.

Republican Susana Martinez has matched Denish in voluntarily releasing a report of contributions and expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2009.

But unlike Denish and Martinez, Arnold-Jones has not been releasing information about campaign expenditures more often than is required by state law. Asked if Domenici planned to release information about expenditures more often than law requires, Antoon said he does not.

“Expenditures will be released in accordance with the state’s disclosure law because it is a campaign’s expenditures that detail planning and strategy (though nearly all campaigns would not admit that outright),” he wrote in an e-mail. “So we will safeguard that information.”

In response to a question, Antoon said the campaign may release information about any in-kind contributions the campaign has received more often than state law requires.

Republican candidate Doug Turner has said “maybe” in response to my question about whether he would voluntarily release a finance report. And the campaign of Republican Allen Weh has said he is “considering”doing the same.

Dems attack

The Democratic Party responded to Domenici’s release of contribution information by accusing Domenici of underperforming by his “own standards.”

Citing a “source close to the campaign” that NMPolitics.net quoted when Domenici entered the gubernatorial race on Jan. 17 as saying the campaign expected to reach $500,000 in fundraising “very soon,” the Democratic Party said in a news release that Domenici’s “early gaffes and mistakes” have hampered his fundraising.

The Democratic Party did not point out that the Domenici campaign never officially set the bar at $500,000.

Poll: Domenici Jr leads GOP field

While Democrat Lt. Governor Diane Denish cruises toward her party’s nomination for governor in 2010 unchallenged, the five-person Republican primary is beginning to heat up, and Pete Domenici Jr, who entered the race last, already has a huge double-digit lead in both name recognition and early voting preferences according to a public opinion poll conducted by 28 NMSU students enrolled in a Political Research Skills course instructed by Dr. Jose Z. Garcia.

The telephone survey, which calculated the responses of 444 registered Republicans statewide, from February 9-13, reports 36.3 percent of participants named Domenici without prompting and 29.3 percent of them said they were leaning toward voting for him — a nearly 18 percent lead over second place finisher Susana Martinez.

“That’s a substantial poll,” Domenici Jr told the Las Cruces Sun-News. “We’re pleased to see those results. We didn’t expect to be this far ahead this soon.”

In fact, Domenici’s likely voter support exceeded the combined voter preference totals for Martinez (11.5%,) Allen Weh (7.4%), Doug Turner (6.8%), and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones(2.5%). A little more than 42 percent said they are still undecided.

Room for any one of the candidates to surge ahead'

Among likely Republican voters who were able to name, unprompted, at least one candidate in the race, 36 percent were able to name Domenici Jr. That was followed by former state Republican Party Chairman Allen Weh (22 percent), Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez (18 percent), Albuquerque public relations firm owner Doug Turner (17 percent) and State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones of Albuquerque (8 percent).

Still, 46 percent of respondents — 203 people — weren’t able to identify a single candidate.

In his analysis of the results, which have an error rate of plus or minus 5 percent, Prof. Garcia looked at the question of whether Domenici’s lead was primarily due to high name recognition because of his father, retired six-term U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici.

To test it, Garcia looked at respondents who recognized both the names of Domenici and Martinez, who came in second in the poll, and found that 25 percent of those people preferred Domenici, while 40 percent preferred Martinez, 12 percent preferred another candidate and 12 percent were undecided.

“That, coupled with other factors, could mean this primary race could come down to Domenici and Martinez,” Garica predicted.

“The low sample size does not permit definitive conclusions, but this reduction, when combined with the relatively low performance of Weh in the preference question despite his relatively high name recognition … and the relatively low performance of Turner and Arnold, suggests—other things being equal—this is likely to become a two-person race in the next few weeks between Domenici and Martinez,” Garcia’s poll memo states.

Garica’s analysis also broke down the support by gender and ethnicity of respondents, and found that Domenici had the support of at least as many men and women as all the other candidates combined, and the support of roughly twice as many as Hispanic voters.

“Pete’s conservative positions are being well received by those now following the race,” Domenici’s campaign manager Doug Antoon wrote in a news release Sunday morning.

Garcia said he recognized the high number of undecided and believes there is still “a great deal of room for anyone of the candidates to surge ahead.”

In fact, the poll was taken before Domenici admitted to using drugs in the 70’s and 80’s and a mixed statement about his chances of winning the general election in 2010.

Poll results challenged

At least one campaign has questioned the reliability of the poll, calling Garcia a “staunch supporter” of Martinez. Another campaign manager told the Las Cruces Sun-News that the poll does not match their own internal polling.

“We disagree with the results, as Susana Martinez’s results appear inflated,” Allen Weh spokesman Chris Sanchez told the Las Cruces newspaper. “It appears there was a huge conflict of interest. We question who paid for the poll.”

But, Garcia has been upfront on the issue. He said that he purchased the survey list from Albuquerque-based Research and Polling with his own money, said that he's "not backing any of the candidates," nor consulting for any campaign.

The professor said his comments about Martinez being "a game changer," made to NMPolitics.net blogger Heath Haussamen last July, shortly after Martinez' announcement, was not an endorsement.

“I’m a registered Democrat,” Garica said. “My classes have been conducting polls like this for years.”

“It was not an endorsement at all,” he said. “I think I spoke factually, and if she ends up being a viable candidate in the Republican Party, I was right.”

Some pundits have said the poll signals problems for the Weh campaign.

He had the second highest name identification, but only place third in voter preference. So voters who know him may not have a favorable opinion of him.

Steve Kush, who moved to New Mexico from New Jersey, shortly after aiding Chris Christie’s successful campaign, told the Sun-News the polls numbers are “out-of-line with our internal numbers and appear to be regional in nature.”

“The only poll that matters is the one taken by the voters on Election Day, and I am confident the voters will respond to Representative Arnold-Jones’ message,” Kush told the Sun-News.

Turner told the newspaper he was “pleased that his name recognition numbers were as high as they were in the poll.” He said he started out the campaign at “2 percent or less,” because he’s new to the political arena.

The candidates first test will come in mid-March at the Republican Party Pre-Primary nominating convention in Albuquerque. Candidates there will need to muster at least 20 percent of the delegate vote for an automatic primary ballot position. No candidate who has not garnered that minimum has ever gone on to win the primary.

Domenici Jr accuses Weh of 'dishonesty'

Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Domenici Jr is accusing primary opponent Allen Weh of being "intellectually dishonest" after Weh distributed a news release to local bloggers - including ours -- using comments Domenici made about his chances of winning the general election this Fall.

“For him to have ripped out of context an innocent sentence was a half truth and reflects the same type of dishonesty we are trying to rid Santa Fe of,” Domenici said during a three-way call with NMPolitics.net Publisher Heath Haussamen and us.

"His excerpt from the 770KKOB interview ended with my statement about how hard it will be for Republicans to win without the best candidate. The rest of my statement concluded with, I'm saying I can win, and I'm concerned with the perception that I'm hearing (from Allen Weh) that says any of them (the Republicans running) can beat Denish. I don't agree with that," Domenici clarified.

Here’s the original transcript of what Weh provided:

Villanucci: Are you the best person to win the general?

Domenici: The general is going to be an extremely difficult election. The perception out there that somehow any of the five candidates can and should win the general, I disagree with strongly.

Villanucci: Who can’t win?

Domenici: I don’t know if I want to say particular names of who can’t win.

Villanucci: You obviously have a feeling on that. You said that not all of you can win, so somebody can’t, and you think you can. So, who can’t?

Domenici: Actually, I would even include myself in the group that

can’t.

But a review of the full audio transcripts revealed the Domenici went on to say:

“Actually, I would even include myself in the group that can’t. I don’t think this is a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination. It is going to be extremely tough. So I, that’s why I don’t want to go in the negative. I’m saying I can win and I’m concerned with the perception I’m hearing that says any of these five can win. I don’t agree with that.”

Domenici goes even further in a news release distributed after the telephone call, and claims it is Allen Weh who "cannot win."

"He has alienated too many Republicans and voters across the board,” Domenici said in the news release.

All four Republican candidates will try to pick up pre-primary convention delegates at nearly a dozen county meetings this weekend. Domenici said he'll attend at least two - in Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties.

Updated: Domenici says general election will be "tough""

Updated:

A second and more thorough review of Domenici's statement to a local talk show host reveals he actually thinks he can win, he simply says "it's not a sure thing."

I don’t think this is a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination. It is going to be extremely tough. So I, that’s why I don’t want to go in the negative. I’m saying I can win and I’m concerned with the perception I’m hearing that says any of these five can win. I don’t agree with that.”

Political newcomer Pete Domenici Jr, who admitted to smoking marijuana and using cocaine in the 1970s and 1980's, also told 770KKOB radio talk show host Jim Villanucci on Tuesday that the 2010 general election is going to be "difficult" for any of the five Republican gubernatorial candidates to win.

In fact, Domenici, who considers himself a front runner in this June's primary, went further and said he might not be able to win the general election himself.

Today, Albuquerque Businessman Allen Weh, who is also running for Governor, sent us the audio and a news release stating that he is much more confident in the party's chances this Fall.

“In November, voters will be looking for a leader who can put New Mexicans back to work and get our economy moving in the right direction,” Weh said. “Unlike my opponent, I believe the next governor of New Mexico will be a Republican.”

The following is a transcript, provided by the Weh camp, from Wednesday’s radio interview:

Jim Villanucci: Are you the best person to win the general?

Pete Domenici Jr: The general is going to be an extremely difficult election. The perception out there that somehow any of the five candidates can and should win the general, I disagree with strongly.

Jim Villanucci: Who can't win?

Pete Domenici Jr: I don't know if I want to say particular names of who can't win.

Jim Villanucci: You obviously have a feeling on that. You said that not all of you can win, so somebody can't, and you think you can. So, who can't?

Pete Domenici Jr: Actually, I would even include myself in the group that can't.

Pete Domenici Jr considering run for governor

Pete Domenici Jr. — the 50- year-old son of retired U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici — is seriously considering running for governor, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting.

Domenici, who like his father is a Republican, has been “contemplating a run since before the holiday season,” the Journal article states.

“I’m looking very seriously at it,” the Journal quoted him as saying. “I’m going to make my decision in a few days.”

Domenici Jr., an environmental and natural resources lawyer in Albuquerque, would become the fifth Republican in the 2010 race.

The paper reports Domenici Jr, who has not run for political office before, does not have a campaign exploratory committe and has not rasied any money for the possible race.

If he decides to run he'll face Albuquerque business owners Allen Weh and Doug Turner, state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, and Doña Ana CountyDistrict Attorney Susana Martinez.

The state GOP pre-primary nominating convention is scheduled for March 13th, at the Albuquerque Hilton. Candidate's have get 20 percent of the delegates vote for an automatic ballot position.

Democrat Lt. Governor Diane Denish is running unopposed in her party's primary.