Pearce may not attend national GOP convention

Posted 7/25/2008 03:52:00 PM

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Pearce may not attend his party’s presidential nominating convention in September, joining nine of 12 Republicans running in the most competitive Senate races in either saying they won’t attend or aren’t sure whether they will.

Republicans from around the country will gather in Minnesota for the Sept. 1-4 convention, but Pearce is still on the fence about whether he’ll attend, according to the National Journal. A Pearce campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article.

Attending the convention is apparently not a high priority for many GOP Senate candidates. The article notes that the convention “will be bookended by speeches from President Bush, whose low approval ratings have caused many candidates to keep him at arm’s length, and (GOP Presidential nominee John) McCain, who is still trying to mend fences with conservatives.”

“But none of the absentees or potential no-shows is publicly citing Bush or McCain as the reason for their decisions,” the article states. “Instead, they and their campaign aides point to the difficult campaign landscape and limited opportunities to campaign.”

By contrast, most Democratic opponents of the GOP candidates who are skipping or might skip the Republican convention are planning to attend the Democrats’ convention in Denver a week earlier. That includes Pearce’s opponent, Tom Udall, the National Journal reported.

Pearce was slow to endorse McCain even after he became the presumptive GOP nominee but has warmed up to him recently. Pearce spoke briefly at a McCain town-hall event in Albuquerque earlier this month. According to the Albuquerque Journal, he praised McCain as someone who “doesn’t mince words” and “tells you right where he stands.”

“That’s going to restore the faith and confidence in this country in our leadership,” the Journal quoted Pearce as saying.

Meanwhile, Gov. Bill Richardson might end up missing the Democratic convention. He has called lawmakers into special session starting Aug. 15, and said Thursday he would skip the convention if the Legislature was still meeting.

“I’ll stay here. This is my priority,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying at a news conference.