National GOP pull money for Wilson

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The National Republican Senatorial Committee confirmed it's pulled $3 million worth of television ads for Republican Senate candidate Heather Wilson.

A recent Rasmussen poll shows Wilson is slipping farther behind Democrat Congressman Martin Heinrich in what was once a tight race. Heinrich now leads 48-41. Political experts said the NRSC will likely shift the money to more competitive Senate races in other states.

"It's something that you should be worried about if you're Heather Wilson right now," said UNM Political Science Professor Gabriel Sanchez.

Sanchez said the NRSC's decision to bow out of the race may lead others to follow suit.

"Other folks you might be asking for money from might say well wait a minute, if the Republican party is pulling money, maybe we shouldn't invest in you either," said Sanchez.

Two national publications, The Washington Post and Roll-Call, have also changed their estimate of the New Mexico Senate race from "toss-up" to "leaning Democrat."

But Chris Sanchez, a Wilson spokesman, said the campaign still has a lot of support from outside groups that will pay for ads. Sanchez also said the NRSC may be gone now, but it doesn't mean it won't come back.

"With these outside groups, they're going to continue to make spending decisions that are going to fluctuate from now until election day," said Sanchez.

Neither campaign would tell us how much money they've raised since their last reports two months ago. Wilson was leading Heinrich in the money race by about $200,000. The next campaign finance report is due in October.

Experts said Wilson could make up ground in televised debates, where she has done well in other campaigns.