Ben Ray Lujn announces Senate campaign for Tom Udall's seat

[brooklynite]

Source: CBS News

Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-New Mexico, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, announced Monday that he's launching a campaign for the seat of retiring Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, making him the latest lieutenant of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to leave the chamber and forego a bid to one day succeed her.

"I've been humbled by all of the outreach encouraging me to run and it's been an honor to serve you in the House where we've accomplished a lot together," said Luján in a video announcement Monday morning. "But to move forward, we've got to fix the Senate, where Mitch McConnell stands in the way of progress," he added.

Luján, 46, has served as the representative for New Mexico's third district since 2008. He was elevated to the role of Assistant Speaker — a role with little functional power — after two terms as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, most recently during the 2018 election cycle, when Democrats recaptured the majority they lost in 2010. As the highest-ranking Latino member of the House, he was widely seen as a potential successor to Pelosi as speaker if Democrats keep control of the House in the coming years.

While Luján holds a prominent position on Capitol Hill and would bring major fundraising prowess to the race given the national network of donors he cultivated as head of the DCCC, it may not be enough to guarantee him the opportunity to run unopposed in the primary.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ben-ray-lujan-announces-senate-campaign-for-tom-udalls-seat/

[StevieM]

1. This surprises me. I thought he was going to be the next Speaker of the House.

I had assumed that he would succeed Pelosi after she retires.

[FarPoint]

2. I heard Valerie Pflame ..

Was also thinking of running for this seat....

[comradebillyboy]

3. Her beltway friends don't vote in New Mexico.

She has been pretty aloof from public life in NM. I have no idea who her constituency is outside of Santa Fe's celebrity scene. She certainly hasn't been hob-nobbling with the proles in this state.

Ben Ray, on the other hand, has lots of friends and a solid political base. His main competitor, Hector Balderas opted not to run. Maybe Balderas will go for Lujan's House seat.

[burrowowl]

4. Or Maggie our Secretary of State

[comradebillyboy]

5. I like Maggie a lot. She's been a great SoS.

And she should definitely be included in the discussion.

[onetexan]

6. BRL is a good candidate

glad to see him throwing his hat in the ring

[Cha]

7. Good.. he's done an excellent job!