NM-Sen 2012: Senator Jeff Bingaman to Retire from U.S. Senate
Senate Energy Committee Chairman Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., left, asks a question during a hearing on the BP oil spill on Capitol Hill in Washington
Senate Energy Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., will announce on Saturday that he will not seek reelection, Democratic sources confirmed. The news was first reported by the Washington Post.
Bingaman, who was first elected in 1982, will become the fourth Democratic Caucus member and sixth incumbent to announce they will not seek reelection in 2012. Sens. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), and Jim Webb (D-Va.) have previously announced they will not be running in 2012.
Reps. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan will almost certainly be mentioned on the Democratic side as might that of former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish.
Former Rep. Heather Wilson has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate and sources close to Rep. Steve Pearce say he is looking seriously at running.
No matter if the Democrats have a large majority of registered voters in the state, they will need to expend far more resources in New Mexico than if Jeff Bingaman had decided to run for re-election. President Obama remains popular in the state, according to the latest polls, but a mistake by a Democratic nominee for Senate could hurt him.
The White House and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid cannot be too pleased.