TOM UDALL WINS NEW MEXICO
SENATE RACE

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Signature Race to Install New Senate Environmental Champion

(11/04/08) Albuquerque, NM – New Mexico voters today sent Tom Udall to the United States Senate by an overwhelming margin in what was the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund’s signature race for the 2008 cycle.  Udall bested Rep. Steve Pearce who has a lifetime score of two percent on the DAF congressional report card.  Below is a statement from Rodger Schlickeisen, the President of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund:

"Tonight the voters of New Mexico chose a new future with pragmatic and responsible energy policies, and rejected the extreme, pro-Big Oil special interest politics that Rep. Steve Pearce represented.  Tom Udall was a great champion for our air, land, water and wildlife in the House and we know he’ll carry on that tradition in the Senate.  We were proud to work towards his election and will be prouder still to see him sworn in as the next senator from New Mexico.

"We targeted this race from the beginning with a strategy of exposing the real Steve Pearce to New Mexicans very early on.  We began in April and worked hard through the summer, highlighting Pearce’s abysmal conservation record and his ties to Big Oil.  We were convinced that when presented with such a stark choice between a candidate with a true vision for a new energy future for America, and a candidate that represented the old, failed special-interest politics, the voters of New Mexico would make the right choice. And they did.

"The Defenders Action Fund is committed to putting real support behind pro-conservation champions like Tom Udall.  Our victory against Rep. Steve Pearce and other extreme anti-conservation candidates throughout the country in 2008, coupled with our stunning victory against Rep. Richard Pombo in 2006, should put other like-minded, extreme anti-conservation members of Congress on notice that we will hold them accountable at the ballot box."

The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund campaign in New Mexico was the largest and most comprehensive independent expenditure effort in support of Tom Udall.  The campaign consisted of comprehensive and aggressive paid advertising, field, and press operations.  In total, the Defenders campaign:

• Deployed 40 campaign staff;
• Ran an early and sustained field operation since starting before the Senate primary, knocking on over 55,000 doors in support of Udall and against Pearce, from a total of more than 120,000 doors knocked in support of Obama and Heinrich also;
• Aired four (4) widely-broadcast television ads and a radio ad on Pearce;
• Earned over 65 stories in the New Mexico media; and
• Played a dominant role in the state coalition of numerous labor, environmental, and progressive organizations.

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The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.

Prius Winner Announced!

View Photos from the Campaign

Ads from the campaign

Flip Watch our second TV ad for more reasons why Pearce and Wilson are "two" bad for New Mexico. Wilson pressured a US Attorney to put politics above the law and Pearce ignored a clear conflict of interest while secretly selling his oil company for millions. Heads or tails... it's "two" bad for New Mexico.
MTBE Radio Ad Wilson and Pearce voted to give the makers of the toxic chemical MTBE immunity from legal action for contaminating New Mexico's drinking water.  Maybe it's because lobbyists for the polluters that make MTBE gave Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce thousands in campaign contributions.
Spanish Language Radio Ad Spanish language radio ad criticizing Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson as "a flip of the coin" when it comes to supporting big oil companies over New Mexico consumers.
It's a Flip of the Coin TV Ad Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce have both been named among the most corrupt members of Congress by an independent watchdog group. Head's or Tails, it's "two" bad for New Mexico