Pearce Pumps Oil Patch With GOP Partner Wilson

ARTESIA— Employees at McBride’s oilfield supply company in Hobbs were preparing for another busy day in the booming southeastern New Mexico oil patch Tuesday morning when Rep. Steve Pearce strode through the front door with a smile and an appeal for votes.

Flanked by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson — his onetime political opponent — Pearce said the workers’ economic security could hinge on next week’s election.

“This election is hugely important for the oil fields,” said Pearce, a Republican who hails from Hobbs and made millions in the oil business before coming to Congress in 2003. “There are people in Washington who would like to shut you down. So, pass the word through the oil field because word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind.”

On Tuesday, Pearce sought votes not only for himself in his 2nd Congressional District re-election campaign against Democrat Evelyn Madrid Erhard, but also for Wilson, a former New Mexico congresswoman who is running for U.S. Senate against Democratic Rep. Martin Heinrich.

The two longtime New Mexico politicians traversed southeastern New Mexico’s oil country all day Tuesday, starting with an early-morning rally in Hobbs before boarding a bus to shake hands, slap backs and pose for pictures at stops in Carlsbad and Artesia.

Along the way, Wilson and Pearce encountered oil and gas industry workers encouraged by their pro-energy positions, including opening more federal land to drilling and relaxing regulations on the industry. Although Wilson hails from the Albuquerque area, her campaign’s relentless focus on energy policy seemed to resonate with southeastern New Mexico voters.

One such voter said Wilson would be an antidote to “lizard-loving Democrats,” a reference to a local spat over the sagebrush lizard that has pitted environmentalists against the oil industry. Another said Wilson understands the importance of oil to New Mexico.

“This corner of New Mexico definitely supports her,” said Rand French, a regulatory adviser for Concho Resources, one of New Mexico’s largest energy producers. “She recognizes the implications of oil and gas and what it does for our schools and our state.”

The solidarity Pearce and Wilson displayed Tuesday stood in marked contrast to their relationship in 2008, when they faced off in a hard-fought — and sometimes personal — U.S. Senate primary campaign. Pearce won that primary election, but lost the general election to then Rep. Tom Udall, now one of the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators.

“She called and asked for help and I just felt like it’s important thing to do for the state,” Pearce said. “Heinrich would be devastating for the (oil patch) area. He would not fight any of the fights that need to be fought. That’s the reason we’re going around on this trip.”

Wilson also said she had no lingering hard feelings.

“Primaries are family fights and it was hard at the time, but you just get over it and move on,” Wilson said. “There is just too much at stake and I look forward to working with him.”

But Wilson has been trailing Heinrich in the Journal Poll on the Senate race. And, after sitting on the sidelines for most of New Mexico’s campaign, Crossroads GPS, a powerful political action committee founded by Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, began airing ads this week attacking Heinrich on energy policy.

Heinrich has repeatedly said he supports responsible extraction of traditional fuels, such as oil and gas while Wilson has hammered him as an out-of-touch environmentalist promoting a “green dream.”

Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling, Inc. and the Journal’s pollster, said it made “perfect sense” for Pearce to help Wilson solidify support in conservative southeastern New Mexico in the run-up to Tuesday’s election.

“I don’t think the people in Lea Country need to be convinced to vote for Heather Wilson — they’re going to vote for her,” Sanderoff said. “But at this point, Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson having rallies together is good for building enthusiasm.”
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal