Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) speaks to members of the press at the worksite for a new Tesla dealership in Santa Ana Pueblo after the announcement of the partnership between Tamaya Ventures and Tesla concluded on the morning of Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by Shelby Wyatt for Source NM)
Sen. Martin Heinrich is expected to comfortably win reelection Tuesday over Republican challenger Nella Domenici, where national issues – including abortion and the border – were central issues in the race.
Heinrich, 53, is the incumbent senior senator for New Mexico, while Domenici entered the race as a political newcomer, with a background in hedge fund management. Her father, the late Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, represented New Mexico for 36 years in the nation’s upper chamber.
Heinrich said on the campaign trail he would continue to push for additional climate infrastructure legislation, pointing to the Inflation Reduction Act as a positive blueprint. He also said he’s looking for immigration reform, including border security and also offering a pathway to citizenship for children brought to the U.S. without legal permission.
Domenici, 63, garnered a reputation for not granting interviews during the campaign. Her major appearances were on televised debates and interviews. She declined to go on a local radio show after questions released ahead of time would ask about her support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and her position on the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Domenici received a shout-out from Trump during his brief rally in Albuquerque on Thursday, after more than an hour where he repeated mistruths about New Mexico elections and reiterated his hardline border stance.
Domenici has said she would close the U.S.-Mexico border and push for additional oil and gas drilling.
Heinrich pushed reproductive health access to the front on the campaign trail mirroring Democratic races across the U.S. He reaffirmed his commitment to pass a law nationally codifying abortion access, and to push back on Republican-backed rollbacks to contraception and in-vitro fertilization.
Domenici’s position on abortion and contraceptive access departed from many of the Republican party members and platform. In debates and interviews, Domenici said her position was that abortions be “safe, legal and – most importantly, rare,” and said unintended pregnancies should be reduced with increased access to contraception.
Heinrich said Domenici’s stance is at odds with the next leader for the GOP in the U.S. Senate, in which candidates have publicly supported additional restrictions on abortion including a national ban.
Heinrich outraised Domenici nearly twice over at $10 million dollars. The majority of Heinrich contributions were from individual donors, and he made no loans to his campaign according to campaign finance records.
Domenici’s raised about $5.8 million. Just under half of the contributions were from individual donors, while she received $1.2 million from committees. She lent her campaign $2.2 million, according to financial records.