Iraq, Bush Trouble for N.M. Candidate

Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., background, gestures as her opponent state Attorney General Patricia Madrid takes notes during their televised debate in Albuquerque, N.M., on Oct. 24, 2006. Madrid is vying for Wilson's seat in the 1st Congressional district. (AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf) (Jake Schoellkopf - AP)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Republican Rep. Heather Wilson has bested more than one tough opponent in her Democratic-leaning House district, where many voters depend on military and defense jobs.

But this year, the five-term incumbent's toughest challenge is overcoming her own party.

Albuquerque voters' distaste for President Bush, Republicans and the war in Iraq have helped give a slight advantage to Wilson's opponent, the state's Democratic attorney general, Patricia Madrid.

Wilson, an Air Force veteran known for occasionally bucking her party, has tried to make the race about local issues. She has struggled against a blitz of negative ads by Democrats contending that a vote for Wilson is a vote for Bush and the war.

Voters now parrot the message when asked about the race.

"It's not that she's doing a bad job, it's just that she seems like a puppet for Bush," said Leonard Zamora, a Democrat who had not decided for whom to vote. "It's time for a change."

Despite the Democratic tilt of her constituency, Wilson has been well-liked in her district, which is home to Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories.

"If it were not for Iraq and the president's low approval rating, I think Heather Wilson would win comfortably," Albuquerque pollster Brian Sanderoff said.

Instead, Madrid's intense focus on national issues has made the Albuquerque-area 1st Congressional District a mirror of the difficult national landscape for Republicans.

Recent polls have found just 38 percent of metro-area voters approve of Bush _ the same as voters nationally. Statewide, 52 percent say the Iraq war was a mistake.

One of the toughest questions for Wilson this campaign has been whether she thinks Bush is a good president. The normally poised and prepared Wilson sidestepped the question at a recent debate, but she was pressed three more times at a news conference the next day.

"I think my job is to stand up for the people of New Mexico, and history will be the judge of the president and of me," she finally answered.