Democrat Denish Takes Big Early Lead in New Mexico Governor Race

New Mexico's Democratic governor, Bill Richardson, is term-limited, but his number two, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, leads five potential GOP challengers by margins ranging from 9 to 22 points, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted March 24.

The candidate who fares best against Denish is Doug Turner, who heads a public relations firm and has been active in state and national GOP campaigns. Denish leads him 43 percent to 34 percent with 7 percent preferring another candidate and 16 percent undecided.

The next best GOP showing is that of Allen Weh, a retired Marine Corps Reserve colonel and head of an air charter company. Denish leads him 45 percent to 35 percent with 7 percent percent preferring someone else and 13 percent undecided.

After those two, Denish leads Pete Domenici Jr., an environmental lawyer who is the son of former six-term Sen. Pete Domenici, by 17 points; Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez by 19 points; and, state Rep. Janice-Arnold Jones by 22 points.

Denish is the best known of the field with only 10 percent of voters unable to express a favorable or unfavorable opinion of her, and Domenici Jr. is next with only 17 percent not sure about him, no doubt due to the political legacy of the Domenici name in the state. Denish is regarded favorably by 55 percent of voters with 28 percent seeing her "very" favorably. The rest of the candidates are so relatively unknown that the favorability numbers don't mean much. In Domenici's case, he is seen favorably by 44 percent and unfavorably by 39 percent, but only 10 percent among those see him "very" favorably.

Except in the match-up with Turner, Denish draws in the neighborhood of 1 in 5 Republican votes. Against Turner, she only gets 11 percent.

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