Dem's endorsement of Barela reveals GOP strategy

Posted 6/18/2009 03:16:00 PM

This article has been updated.

Perhaps most interesting about today’s already expected announcement that Republican Jon Barela will challenge U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., next year was the endorsement of the former state GOP vice chairman by a member of the state Democratic Party’s 450-member central committee.

“I’m a lifelong Democrat, but I’m a New Mexican first. I’m enthusiastically supporting Jon Barela because I know he’s one of us and he’ll always put New Mexico first, and that’s more important than partisan politics,” Robert Aragon said today in a news release from the Barela campaign.

In addition to holding the position in the state Democratic Party, Aragon is a Democratic ward chairman in Bernalillo County and a former state representative.

The endorsement, announced earlier today when Barela formalized his candidacy at a news conference in the South Valley, reveals the GOP strategy: Paint Heinrich as a Nob Hill liberal who is out of touch with the more moderate district he represents.

Will it work? Time will tell. While many of Heinrich’s votes have followed the Democratic agenda, he’s taken some less party-line stances, such as opposing any attempt at enacting new gun-control regulations.

Barela’s news release states that while he knows this will be a tough race, “he believes his deep roots in the community will allow him to earn the crossover votes necessary to win this district.” Barela said he’s running for Congress “because government spending is out of control and the money to fund that blank check in Washington is coming out of the paychecks of New Mexico workers and costing us jobs right here at home.”

“Unchecked spending in Congress needs to stop,” Barela said.

Not surprisingly, Barela, a past president of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce and former member of the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education, also won the endorsement of Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who lost the 1st District race to Heinrich last year.

“Jon Barela has strong credentials. Besides being a successful businessman and civic leader, he’s a genuinely nice guy. Best shot for GOP,” White wrote today on his Twitter page.

Heinrich’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Update, 10:15 p.m.

Heinrich spokesman John Blair said the congressman “is focused on promoting good jobs in the district, like the 1,000 jobs associated with the 150th Air National Guard Unit, ensuring quality health care for all New Mexicans, and investing in clean energy development in the 1st Congressional District.”

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Aragon was a member of the state Democratic Party’s executive committee, a smaller group than the central committee. That’s because Barela’s news release contained that inaccurate information.