Nella Domenici

First, some clean-up on that poll we said Thursday was being conducted regarding the 2020 US Senate race.

There has indeed been a recent poll featuring possible GOP candidates for the Senate, but it was not conducted by former Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, as we initially blogged from info supplied by a Senior Alligator.

Sanchez tells us he has looked at the Senate contest, but has not yet made a announcement regarding his intentions and did not commission the poll. Our Gator had the corrected info but did not get back to us before we posted the initial blog.

Said Sanchez:

Even though I've been encouraged by hundreds of supporters and by national leaders to run for the open Senate seat, I have not, nor has my political organization, paid for any polling. . . I will always work to continue my service to my beloved state and this nation whether as a public servant or private citizen.

We listened to a recording of the live telephone poll that was apparently commissioned by one of those named in the survey, though not Sanchez.

Okay, with that straightened out let's take a peek at the Republican names tested for approval and disapproval.

One was out of the blue--Nella Domenici--a daughter of the late US Senator Pete Domenici. That's odd because she has had a long career in elite financial circles on the East Coast--not here. And her brother, Pete Domenici, Jr., once made an ill-fated run for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. There were no Pete coattails.

The poll also tested a possible negative for the 58 year old Nella Domenici. The survey asked respondents if the fact that she is a multi-millionaire who owns three houses--including one on New York's posh Fifth Avenue and another in Santa Fe--would cause them to view her differently. Uh, yeah, that might be a problem.

Then there was former ABQ Mayor Richard Berry, who left office with his polling numbers in the tank. Simply not electable.

Add in former ABQ GOP State Rep. Conrad James, a likable guy but not a name that comes to mind for US Senate.

Susana Martinez was on the poll. No comment necessary.

The aforementioned John Sanchez was listed and was the one name that might seem plausible, but still unlikely to take the seat from the Dems.

A wild card in the poll was TV weatherman Mark Ronchetti. The forecast for his TV future may be bright, but for Senate? Jorge Torres says the outlook for that would be very cloudy.

They threw Steve Pearce's name in as well, but the former congressman and current chairman of the GOP, lost a previous Senate race. And he's 72. Not that he's too old to run. Oh, come on, he's way too old to run,

We were not privy to the poll results but the listed names are not going to panic Dem Senate hopefuls Ben Ray Lujan or Maggie Toulouse Oliver. They just aren't.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Bill Hume

We're sad to report the death of the noted journalist Bill Hume, who for many years ably led the editorial pages of the ABQ Journal and later served as a policy advisor to Gov. Bill Richardson.

Hume, who died from bladder cancer, was a walking encyclopedia when it came to New Mexico. His emails to the blog were always a welcome sight, offering insights and guidance. As a young reporter in the 70’s I, and I am sure many others, were greatly influenced by his work. His ethical example, in particular, stood out.