Consider the first words each uttered in their televised debate.
"Elections are about choices, and the differences between my opponent and I are many," Republican Wilson said, a line she repeated through the evening. "If you want higher taxes and a weaker national defense, you should vote for Mrs. Madrid."
"I'm running for Congress because it's time for a change in this country," Democrat Madrid responded. "George Bush has been an unmitigated, abject failure, and Heather Wilson has been with him every step of the way."
A political panorama
The issues and advertisements that have played across this high-desert district offer a panorama of the year in politics. There has been scandal, with cameo mentions of former Reps. Tom DeLay, Randy "Duke" Cunningham and Mark Foley. Stem-cell research, soaring gas prices and rising healthcare costs have been discussed, along with the sway of special interests in Washington and Santa Fe, the state capital.
But the war in Iraq has dominated the campaign above all and presented the starkest contrast between the two candidates, just as it has in many races across the country.
Wilson has carefully sculpted an image of independence from Bush and GOP leaders in Congress, parting ways at various times on budget, healthcare and ethics issues.
But the Air Force Academy graduate has been unflagging in her support of the war, casting Madrid as inexperienced and dangerously naive when it comes to Iraq and terrorism.
In the debate, Wilson characterized her opponent's position this way: "Bring the guys home. Quit. Surrender." Madrid, who favors a withdrawal of U.S. troops but has offered no clear timetable, retorted: "Staying the course is not a plan. Paralysis is not a plan."
In terms of public opinion, the Democrat would seem to have the upper hand on the issue. An Albuquerque Journal poll published this month found that 52% of New Mexicans thought the U.S. should have stayed out of Iraq.
More often than not, they believed the administration cherry-picked and sometimes manipulated intelligence, a charge Madrid has used against Wilson, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee.
Wilson rejects the allegation.
But the poll also found considerable ambivalence about the war -- only 15% supported an immediate withdrawal -- a sentiment that surfaced in a series of voter interviews in the district last week.
