BREAKING: Rep. Martin Heinrich to Run for U.S. Senate

Rep. Martin Heinrich took to the internet Saturday with a video to formally announce his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2012.

Bypassing a traditional public announcement, the second-term New Mexico
Democrat and former Albuquerque City Councilman used his Facebook page and newly-revamped campaign website to appeal
directly to social media users.

“This is the right time and the right thing to do, and the best
way to advocate for New Mexico,
so as of today I am officially a candidate for the U.S Senate,” Heinrich said in
the video posted at 11 a.m. MST.

He was scheduled to conduct a press conference in Albuquerque at 1 p.m. MST.

The two-term, Albuquerque-based congressman is the first top-tier
Democrat to enter the race to succeed U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat who
will retire after five terms at the end of 2012. Former Rep. Heather Wilson, a
Republican, announced her Senate campaign in March. Also seeking their
party’s nominations in June 2012 are Greg Sowards, a Republican, and Andres
Valdez, a Democrat.

Brian Sanderoff, a longtime New Mexico
political analyst and Journal pollster, said Heinrich enters the Senate race with “inherent
credibility” because of his position as a U.S.
congressman. That should give him a significant campaign fundraising
advantage over other potential Democratic Senate contenders. Other Democratic hopefuls kept pretty quiet so far, but Auditor Hector Balderas and former New Mexico Lt. Gov. Diane Denish are each considering a run.

Current Lt. Gov. John Sanhez, a Republican, is also a possible candidate.

Sanderoff said Heinrich, a two-term congressman, is
well-known in the 1^st Congressional District, but “he’s not a
household name in the far corners of our state” and will have to work
hard to raise his profile statewide, especially in Dona
Ana County.

Heinrich’s unusually personal announcement video shows him in
his moderately furnished Albuquerque home cooking elk steaks with his wife, Julie, and their two young boys. Wearing dark jeans and boots, Heinrich
talks about growing up in a working class family and his belief that a balanced
federal budget should not come at the expense of “teachers and firefighters.”

He said public education “is the future of our economy and
the future of our community.”

“I’m looking forward to continuing my work to advocate for
the people who get up every day and go to work, and just do what good New Mexicans
do to provide for their families,” Heinrich said.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee didn’t wait long to pounce. Soon after Heinrich’s video went viral the NRSC released a statement that said “a big problem for Martin Heinrich is that there is a mile-wide gap between his moderate rhetoric versus his very liberal record.”

 The National Republican Congressional Committee has also been
hammering Heinrich in press releases in recent months, providing a glimpse at
probable lines of attack the GOP will use against his campaign. The NRCC has targeted his
support of the Obama-backed health care bill and accused him of refusing to tackle
fraud and waste in the Medicare and Medicaid health programs. The Republicans
have also targeted Heinrich’s positions on energy, tying him to those who oppose more
domestic oil and gas drilling.

Rep. Steve Pearce, a New Mexico Republican who has also been considering a run for the seat, issued a statement after Heinrich’s announcement saying New Mexicans “deserve a better choice.” He accused Heinrich of “fighting for special interests and the extreme agendas of (House Minority Leader) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.”

Heinrich’s campaign announcement – made strictly in the
realm of social media with no accompanying live event, high-wattage
endorsements or even advance public notice – was highly unorthodox. Sanderoff
called it “clever and symbolic of a new generation” in politics.

Here is an excerpt from my profile of Heinrich prior to the 2010 congressional race that provides some information about his background and entry into politics:

The son of a utility company lineman and a factory
seamstress, Heinrich’s first job in Albuquerque
was producing mechanical drawings at Phillips Laboratories. He said the job
quickly grew stale — he wanted to spend more time outdoors — and he quit after
less than a year.
        Heinrich soon took up with AmericaCorps,
President Clinton’s public service initiative aimed at recent college
graduates. Then, in late 1996, he started working as executive director for
Cottonwood Gulch Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to get youth connected with
the outdoors. His critics derisively refer to this time in Heinrich’s career as
the “camp counselor” phase. But Heinrich contends that, when he left
the job five years later, he had a paid enrollment of more than 100 kids, 20
staff members and an endowment.
        Heinrich said he founded a small consulting
business working with nonprofit and education clients after leaving Cottonwood
Gulch. And, in 2006, he was appointed to the job of Natural Resources Trustee
by Gov. Bill Richardson.
        City Council
        He said he first started looking at a run
for City Council in 2002.
        “It was an interesting time in the
city’s history when it was really starting to look more proactively at how it
could become the kind of place where people want to come. How do we make Albuquerque
a destination for jobs and business? That’s kind of what got me motivated to
run.”
        Heinrich won election to a four-year term
in 2003, representing Albuquerque’s
Southeast Heights,
and served as council president in 2006. Heinrich’s council career was
high-profile and ambitious.
        He successfully led the fight to raise
the city’s minimum wage, a proposal that had originally been given a
thumbs-down by voters and the majority of the council. He supported tougher
ethics laws and public financing of campaigns. Heinrich opposed extending Paseo
del Norte through the Petroglyphs and fought against widening Montaño from two
to four lanes.
        Former
City Councilor Michael Cadigan, a
fierce proponent of the Paseo extension, clashed with Heinrich over the issue.
But, in a recent interview, Cadigan held no grudges.
        “I was pretty emotional about stuff
and he was pretty businesslike,” Cadigan said with a chuckle. “When
there was a possibility to do it, he would work the votes. He got himself into
some leadership positions and did a nice job. There was a real businesslike
sensibility about him. When we were in the middle of the Paseo thing, he was
like, ‘This is what I believe in, this is what my district believes in, and I
can’t help you.’ At least, he was always honest with you.”
        Heinrich showed a propensity for working
the votes again once he arrived in Washington.

        He won election as president of an
unusually large Democratic freshman class during his first two weeks on the
job. He made headlines in 2009 when The Hill newspaper named him the “most
beautiful” person on Capitol Hill.