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Mick Rich

Mick Rich, a Republican construction contractor and first-time politician from Albuquerque, took his campaign for the U.S. Senate onto statewide radio in New Mexico today with a 60-second ad that aims to introduce him to voters in his race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich.

Rich, 63, is the only Republican candidate to qualify for the ballot in the party’s effort to unseat Heinrich. Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn is also seeking the seat as a Libertarian candidate.

In the new radio ad, Rich touts his record as a business owner and says his construction career taught him “hard hat values.”

“I’m not a career politician,” Rich says. “I’m an outsider and a proven job creator. We need a Senator in Washington who knows what it means to wear a hard hat.”

In a press release accompanying the ad’s launch, Rich said: “The hard-working taxpayers of our state deserve a voice in the U.S. Senate. I will be that voice.”

While he’s never run for elected office, Rich said his business experience – he’s worked as a commercial contractor for more than 30 years – would provide a different perspective for New Mexico’s congressional delegation.

Rich told the Journal last year that, if elected, he would push for relaxed restrictions on federal land use and more funding with solidified missions for the state’s federal laboratories, while describing high crime and drug overdose rates in New Mexico as a barrier to economic development.

Rich founded Mick Rich contractors in 1988 and is a member of the state Labor and Industrial Commission. His firm’s projects have included building and renovating schools and churches around New Mexico, including the San Felipe de Neri Parish in Albuquerque’s Old Town.