Potential Senate primary rival blasts ex-N.M. Rep. Wilson as 'moderate-type'

New Mexico Lt. Gov. John Sanchez dismissed his potential rival for the GOP Senate nomination as a centrist has-been who would be unable to excite Republican voters.

Sanchez was in Washington Thursday for the National Lieutenant Governors Association's winter meeting as he explores a possible Senate bid.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) announced last month he wouldn't seek reelection in 2012, prompting several candidates to surge into the GOP primary for the open seat. The field now includes former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), businessman and former congressional candidate Greg Sowards and Bill English. 

Sanchez, who has yet to declare his intentions, said Wilson's time has passed.  

"I think Heather served honorably," he said in an interview. "But if we consider the choices that were made by former establishment candidates, I think it's clear the choices will be very easy for the people of New Mexico.

"Do they want a return back to the days of moderate-type leaders [whose] conservative compasses [weren’t] pointed in the right direction? Or are they looking for somebody who doesn't have to reinvent himself?" he said. "I think the choice for U.S. Senate is abundantly clear."

Sanchez has twice run statewide, losing the gubernatorial race to Democrat Bill Richardson in 2002 before capturing the state's No. 2 job in November.

"People in the state are looking for new ideas," he said. "They're not looking to return to policies of the past, and decisions and leaders that kind of got us into this mess in the first place."

Sanchez said the support of Tea Party activists won't be the deciding factor in the primary race. "I don't necessarily need to be the Tea Party candidate," he said, noting he shares their values of "lower taxes, less government."

"If those are the values that I share with the members of the Tea Party, then so be it," he said.

The Republican brushed off the suggestion that his run for Senate could anger voters who elected him to his current job less than six months ago.

"The opportunity to serve is really the issue at hand right now," he said. "It's about serving and the opportunity to serve the people of New Mexico and this county.

"Those opportunities for an open United States Senate seat don't come but once in a lifetime."

Sanchez said he would decide on a run "relatively soon."

"We believe that a decision will be coming very quickly," he said, noting that "tax day," when returns are due to the IRS, was coming up in April. "We think that sometime here in the near future, in the spring, we'll be making a final decision as far as what our intentions are."

He continued: "Based on the support that we've been receiving from supporters in New Mexico and throughout the rest of the country, we're very encouraged with the amount of early support and encouragement."

Sanchez said he hadn't met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but planned to do so when he returned to Washington next week.

"I haven't had any conversations with them yet, but I know that people throughout New Mexico and, actually, across the country have shown tremendous interest in my potential run for the U.S. Senate," he said.