Pearce wants one now, but Udall thinks it’s too early
With gas at $4 and the energy crunch a topic of daily conversation, Steve Pearce says it’s high time for him and Tom Udall to debate energy issues in their U.S. Senate race.
Udall says it’s too early, but his supporters already are hounding Pearce on the same subject.
An environmental group backing Udall has a rolling billboard of sorts — a Toyota hybrid — portraying Pearce as a poster boy for big oil.
And debate or no debate, trying to blame the other guy for gasoline prices already is shaping up as a key theme in New Mexico’s top election contest this year.
Pearce, the Republican, is so far perceived as the underdog in the contest to replace retiring Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Udall, the Democrat, is thought to have the edge — at least in part because of the Democratic voter registration advantage in New Mexico.
Challenging the frontrunner to debate is a long-standing underdog demand, but this season the energy issue is selfpropelled.
“It would be convenient if issues only came up during debate season, but they don’t,” Pearce, who represents New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, said in an interview.
“This one is here. It is now, and the people want to know what the differences are.”
Udall, who represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District, said he’s busy with his duties in Washington, voters are off on vacation and there are several debates in the works for the fall.
Udall said he isn’t ducking a debate, but also argued that Pearce’s debate proposal so far is no more specific than a challenge issued in a news release last month.
“A debate doesn’t happen out of the blue,” Udall said.
“I think we’re having a pretty good debate in the press right now,” Udall added. “Debates don’t just have to take place in person. People know what my record is. They know what Steve’s record is.”
Meanwhile, the Pearce campaign, in a statement Wednesday, pointed to a new poll that found nearly half of Americans now rate energy exploration and drilling as a top priority. Pearce charged that Udall is “out of step.”
New Mexicans are saying, “‘We need energy. We need it now and we must increase supply,’” Pearce said.
The state Democratic party has organized protests at gas stations around New Mexico to call attention to what it calls “Steve Pearce’s choice to support big oil.” And Udall’s camp slammed Pearce this week for his past votes against bills addressing price gouging and higher gas-mileage standards.
“This is an issue that is much broader than drilling,” Udall said, adding Pearce “seems to be out of touch on some of the solutions that can help right now.”
Pearce recently introduced a bill to open coastal areas and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy production. Udall opposes opening the Arctic refuge — “It’s a very special area,” he said — but added that he thinks Congress should look at outer-shelf drilling case by case.
Udall said he also favors an increase in U.S. refining capacity.
The Pearce campaign cited several votes in which it maintains that Udall opposed new refinery measures, although a Udall spokeswoman pointed to another vote in which he backed a measure for more capacity.
“We’re in a different period now,” Udall said. “And we need to focus on what are things we can do today.”
