Republicans and Democrats continue to fight for control of the Senate as various races across the country, such as the one in Florida between incumbent GOP Sen. Rick Scott and former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, remain extremely close. However, in some states, candidates continue to cement their lead as they enter the homestretch of the campaign season. Such is the case in New Mexico.
In The Land of Enchantment, Democratic incumbent Sen. Martin Heinrich will face off Republican challenger Nella Domenici. With election day quickly approaching, Heinrich is seemingly enjoying a comfortable lead, one that he has held throughout the campaign season, according to the polls.
A new poll from Redfield & Wilton Strategies showed Heinrich holding a 10 percentage point lead against his opponent, standing at 47% to Domenici's 37%.
Studies throughout the season have shown similar figures. For instance, a mid-August poll from Emerson College/ The Hill reported Heinrich polled at 49%, while Domenici stood at 37% of support from voters. That survey was conducted with over 900 New Mexico adults and it had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Considering these figures, Cook Political Report categorizes this race as a "solid" Democratic win.
Heinrich is considered to be a more moderate left of center Democrat, and he first took office in 2013. Prior to his Senate tenure, he joined the AmeriCorps, worked as a mechanical engineer, managed nonprofits and founded a public affairs consulting firm.
He also was appointed in 2006 to be New Mexico's Natural Resources Trustee, spent four years on the Albuquerque City Council, and represented New Mexico's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2009 to 2013.
Domenici, on the other hand, has not previously held a public office, spending the majority of her career in the finance industry, working for large companies like Bridgewater Associates, Citadel and Credit Suisse First Boston. She also has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a graduate degree from the Harvard Business School.
The New Mexico race has recently caught voters' attention, with tensions sharply increasing in recent weeks. Most recently, Domenici's campaign sent a cease and desist letter to Heinrich's campaign over a television ad on abortion.
"I'll never forget being in the grocery store with my daughter, when I heard that Roe was overturned," the ad begins, with a female OBGYN speaking in what looks like a medical office. "Like being crushed with a ton of bricks," another woman says. The ad also claims that a vote for her "is a vote for a federal abortion ban."
But according to her campaign, this does not accurately portray her actual views on the divisive issue.
"Nella has been unimpeachably clear in articulating her position on this very critical issue from day one," Domenici's campaign manager Noah Jennings said in a statement directed to Heinrich on social media platform X. "The fact that you now have to write a three-page letter doing more mental gymnastics than the U.S. Olympic team could handle is telling. You are lying to New Mexicans in your desperation to hold on to your political ambitions."
The campaigns' ramp ups also come as the state is comfortably leaning Democrat in the presidential elections, with Harris standing at 49% to Trump's 44%, according to a Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll conducted between Sept. 6-9.
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