Albuquerque — Albuquerque -- Fighting for control of the House, Democrats and Republicans have cast the midterm election in starkly different terms. To Democrats, it is a national referendum on President Bush; to Republicans, a contrast between local candidates.
The outcome Nov. 7 will probably depend on whether those who turn out to vote are more like Anne Campbell or Don Natvig.
Campbell, a 45-year-old nurse, had trouble deciding between Republican Rep. Heather A. Wilson and her Democratic opponent, state Atty. Gen. Patricia Madrid, until she watched them debate last week. Although Campbell is a Democrat, she was impressed with Wilson's crisp performance and now leans toward the incumbent.
"I think it needs to be a local election," Campbell said, loading groceries into the back of her gray minivan at a big-box mall on the north side of town. "I certainly wouldn't vote against Heather Wilson because of President Bush."
Natvig, who teaches biology at the University of New Mexico, has met Wilson and believes "she's an OK person" and "fairly sincere." But the lanky 54-year-old Democrat plans to vote for Madrid -- even though he's no big fan. "I don't want to support the Republican administration," he said, adding, "I see my vote as being in support of a [Democratic] Congress."
New Mexico's 1st Congressional District is high on both parties' target lists in these final campaign days, as Democrats fight for the 15 seats they need to take over the House. More than $11.5 million has been raised and spent here by the candidates and their allies, a state record, and couch potatoes have been bombarded with more than 11,500 TV spots since July.
The district, which takes in Albuquerque and part of its suburbs, is odd in some ways.
Although Democrats outnumber Republicans, the GOP has held the congressional seat for its entire existence, nearly 40 years. No incumbent has ever been defeated, not even in the big Democratic elections of 1974 and 1982.
Still, few places are better to watch the fight for control of Congress. The district, at the intersection of Route 66 and the Rio Grande, is home to a liberal college community, conservative military retirees, and social moderates whose defense and high-tech jobs depend on fat Pentagon budgets. About one in three voters is Latino.
Moreover, as they run neck and neck, the two candidates personify the broad strategy of their respective parties.
