Valerie Plame

Can an Anglo or half-Anglo carpetbagger become the congressional representative  from the northern congressional district of New Mexico, populated by families that trace their roots back hundreds of years and Native Americans who trace theirs back a thousand?

Well, ask Tom Udall of Arizona who moved to New Mexico to go to UNM's law school in 1975 but eventually (in 1998) landed the northern seat. Or Bill Richardson (half Anglo) who came to the state in 1978 and four short years later found himself as the first representative in the then newly created northern congressional district.

Now comes outed CIA spy Valerie Plame of Santa Fe with book smarts and movie star looks who wants to follow in their paths. Made famous by a 2003 CIA leak scandal that outed her as an intelligence operative and that made her a heroine of the left, Plame and her then husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, moved to Santa Fe in 2006 to escape the whirl of publicity.

With this fresh AP write-up that went national, she seems to be inching closer to running for the Democratic nomination for the US House seat being vacated by Rep. Ben Ray Lujan who is running for the senate seat that Senator Udall is retiring from next year.

Plame first floated a possible candidacy for the Senate seat but is backing off that as Lujan is the heavy favorite to take the Dem nod.

Plame, 55, is a classic high-rent liberal, the kind that nestle into the multi-million dollar homes on Santa Fe's east side, resting securely in the knowledge that their Volvos are safe for another night. And they vote. They were instrumental in electing Alan Webber, another NM outsider, as Santa Fe Mayor a year ago.

Plame's task would not be as easy, running as she is in one of the most sprawling and ethnically diverse districts in the USA. But her obvious hole card is already showing. The likelihood of a multitude of Hispanic candidates running for the seat and perhaps splitting that vote is high and getting higher.

Already two top possible Hispanic female contenders have emerged--Renee Villarreal of the Santa Fe City Council and Public Regulation Commissioner Valerie Espinoza. Plame is so far the sole prominent Anglo woman being mentioned as a possible contender while Villarreal and Espinoza already appear poised to split votes. Then there is the long parade of Hispanic male candidates starting to form that could further the vote splitting.

Ethnicity isn't the key factor in the June 2020 primary--qualifications are--but it's hard to see Plame avoiding a flame out if she doesn't get a demographic boost that would strengthen her base Santa Fe vote.

WHAT'S THE PATH?

The author of a book about the CIA leak scandal and the co-author of two spy novels, Plame has kept her name in play on the national circuit, but skeptics say her fame is fading and that Plame is only toying with the idea of a congressional run to regain her stature on the speaking circuit. They say they will believe she is in only when she is in.

But the pessimism about her having no real path to victory has subsided somewhat. Democrats have been electing women left and right and while there appears to be a push by the DC Dems for a Hispanic woman for the seat, Plame is halfway there.

Celebrity, even if fading, is a strong lure for voters in this hyper-media age. And it can help raise money on-line as we have seen from the presidential candidates. And it can attract big donors off line.

The bottom lines? Plame needs several Hispanic rivals and deep pockets to pull off what Richardson and Udall did and deliver the seat to an outsider. That it has been done before is of more than passing interest.

THE YEAR WAS 1982

The 1982 primary that Bill Richardson won and that catapulted him into the Congress in that November's election was one of the more interesting in state history.

The district was new and four brand name Democratic candidates emerged. Richardson was first among them, having in 1980 narrowly lost a spirited campaign against Republican Congressman Manuel Lujan, Jr, whose district then included ABQ and the entire north. When the redistricting took hold in '82 ABQ became the centerpiece of a new district and the north the centerpiece of what would be the state's third congressional district.

Richardson was joined in the primary by then Lt. Governor Roberto Mondragon, District Court Judge George Perez and Tom Udall, a 34 year old political novice but hailing from a famous Arizona political family.

It was not a cakewalk for Richardson who appealed to Santa Fe Anglo liberals, Hispanics and Native Americans. Thanks in large measure to Mondragon and Perez splitting the Hispanic vote newcomer Richardson took the prize, capturing 36 percent of the vote to Mondragon's 31. Perez received 17 percent and Udall got 14 percent.

Richardson went on to become one of the more accomplished politicians in state history. Mondragon never won another race after finishing his second term as lieutenant governor in 1982 but today, at 78, he is beloved in the north for his efforts to preserve Hispanic culture. George Perez of Bernalillo continued his legal career and retired. And Tom Udall learned from that 1982 defeat, eventually becoming the state's senior Senator in DC from which he will retire at the end of next year.

IN MY TIME

I was living in Santa Fe in 1982 and found myself in November broadcasting the Election Night returns on radio station KAFE-AM 810 (now KSWV) with my guest expert, the late District Court Judge and NM Secretary of Corrections Michael Francke.

He was a close friend of Jeff Bingaman. and that night Jeff made history when he defeated GOP US Senator Harrison "Jack" Schmitt.

It wasn't very late in the evening when it became clear Bingaman would win. Glancing over at Francke he stunned me, saying that he had the Senator-elect on the phone from his ABQ hotel room and he was ready for an interview. I believe it was the very first one he gave that night--to his close friend Michael, and to my benefit.

That night was the last time New Mexicans would hear of the defeat of an incumbent US Senator. It hasn't happened since.

The year was 1982. I was there. And that's how I remember it.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019